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MONTEREY 

Cradle  of 

California  s  Romance 

THE  STORY  OF  A  LOST  PORT  THAT  WAS  FOUND  AGAIN 
AND  A  DREAM  THAT  CAME  TRUE. 


GRACE  JMacFARLAND   /.(B 
MA 


Copyright 

1914 
Grace  MacFarland 


1914 


HENRY  MORSE 


Prenof 

Weybret-Lee  Co. 
Monterey 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 


Page 


Episode  1.     EARLIEST   EXPLORATIONS    ........................................  7 

Episode  2.     CALIFORNIAN  COLONIZATION    ....................................  8 

San  Diego  Founded  ..................................................   9 

Monterey   Rediscovered    .............................................  10 

San  Carlos  del  Carmelo  ..............................................  13 

A   Pioneer   Capital  ...................................................  14 

Death  of  Padre  Serra  ................................................  15 

First   Foreign   Visitor  ................................................  18 

A  Day  with  the  Neophytes  ..........................................  19 

Society  in  Spanish  Monterey  .........................................  22 

Fears   of   Foreign   Aggression  ........................................  26 

Incipient  Insurrections   ..............................................  28 

Episode  3.     MEXICAN   MONTEREY    ..............................................  31 

First   Footholds   of   Americans  .......................................  31 

Republic  of  Mexico  ..................................................  31 

Despoliation  of  Missions  .............................................  32 

Americans  in  Politics  ................................................  32 

Last  Mexican  Governor  ..............................................  36 

Conciliating   California    ............  .-  .................................  37 

European  Colonizers   ................................................  37 

Bear   Flag    .....  ............  38 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS,  continued 


Page 


Episode  4.     CONQUEST    OF    CALIFORNIA 40 

Law  and  Order  a  la  American 43 

Creation  of  California  Literature 46 

Washtub   Mail    47 

First  Jury  Trial 48 

California   Christmas    49 

Introduction  of  Lumber  and  Brick 57 

Custom    House    Robbery 58 

Carmelo   .58 

Struggle   for   Statehood 62 

American  Ayuntamientos   65 

Episodes.     AMERICAN    MONTEREY    67 

Ambitious  Ayuntamientos    67 

A  Mecca  of  Artists 68 

Ruins  of  San  Carlos 70 

Sleepy  Hollow  of  the   Pacific 71 

Artists  Again    73 

An   Abandoned   Mission 76 

Exhuming  Body  of  Junipero  Serra 77 

Modernizing  Monterey   79 

Pacific  Grove    85 

Del    Monte    86 

A  Citv  of  the  Soul .  .  87 


^DEDICATION 

To  my  Mother,  through  whose  confidence 
I  have  kept  up  courage  even  when  things 
went  wrong,  this  book  is  dedicated  with 
the  prayer  that  it  may  prove  Worthy  of 
her  faith 

THE  AUTHOR. 


PREFACE 

Visitors  to  Monterey  are  greeted  by  many  signs  marking  places  of  historic  interest.  There 
has  never  been  any  means  of  answering  their  eager  inquiries  about  the  nature  of  that  interest. 

Three  years  ago,  in  his  Graduate  Course  on  Californian  Literature  at  the  University  of  Cali- 
fornia, Professor  Wm.  D.  Armes  suggested  the  need  of  a  book  to  answer  such  inquiries  accu- 
rately, entertainingly  and  inexpensively. 

The  pages  which  follow  are  the  author's  attempt  to  write  that  book.  Just  how  much  is  due 
to  others,  the  next  lines  will  make  clear. 

First:  Several  librarians,  especially  Miss  Garroute  of  the  State  Library,  greatly  facilitated 
the  work  by  furnishing  printed  material  in  a  selected  form. 

Second:  Those  who  were  familiar  with  details  of  life  in  the  old  Capital  made  possible  the 
picture  of  Old  Monterey. 

Third:  The  busy  men  who  read  the  original  manuscript,  by  their  helpful  criticisms,  enabled 
the  author  to  smooth  away  at  least  part  of  the  rough  places  which  all  too  often  cause  the  reader 
to  stumble  on  his  way  to  the  last  page. 

Those  who  have  given  most  help. are:  Rev.  S.  H.  Willey  and  his  son,  W.  A.  Willey,  Mr. 
Deakin,  of  Berkeley;  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Joseph  Hitchcock,  Sr.,  Mr.  F.  Devendorff,  of  Carmel ;  Dr. 
E.  K.  Abbott,  Mr.  Tom  Allan  and  his  daughter,  Mrs.  Dana;  Mr.  Arnold,  Miss  Bonifacio,  Mrs. 
C.  Field,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Robert  F.  Johnson,  Mr.  C.  Machado,  Rev.  Father  Mestres,  Mr.  J.  K. 
Oliver,  Mr.  Wm.  Sandholdt,  Jr.,  Mr.  C.  Williams,  of  Monterey;  Mr.  Frank  Abbe,  Mr.  Mort 
Regan,  Miss  M.  Solas,  San  Juan  Bautista;  Judge  Peter  J.  Shields,  of  Sacramento;  Mr.  Frank  H. 
Powers  and  Chas.  B.  Turrill.  of  San  Francisco;  Mr.  Harry  A.  Greene,  of  New  Monterey,  and 
Mr.  H.  R.  Warner,  of  Hotel  Del  Monte. 


EARLIEST  EXPLORATIONS 


r  I  ^HE  best  selling  novel  in  Spain  in  1510  was  the  "Sergas  of  Esplandian."  The  scene  of  its 
plot  was  an  island  of  California  "on  the  right  hand  of  the  Indies,"  peopled  by  Amazons 
and  abounding  in  fabulous  riches. 

The  Spaniards  had  found  such  great  wealth  in  Mexico  and  South  America  that  they  readily 
credited  the  fictions  of  the  "Sergas."  Accordingly,  June  27,  1542,  Juan  Rodriguez  Cabrillo,  a 
native  of  Portugal,  but  a  Spanish  citizen,  left  Natividad,  Mexico,  with  two  ships  and  sailed  up  the 
coast  in  search  of  California's  fabled  riches. 

3l   He   found  none,   but  mentioned,   in   his   diary,   that    in    37°    latitude    he    came    upon    a    little 
ensenada   (bay),  the  shores  of  which  were  covered  with  pines. 

gO*>~  After  sixty  years,  one  of  the  King's  generals,  who  had  been  given  the  title  Vicomte  de 
Monterey  and  a  large  grant  of  land  in  Mexico,  obtained  a  royal  decree  authorizing  him  to  "explore 
and  take  possession  of  California." 

He  immediately  subsidized  an  expedition  and  put  his  most  trusted  captain,  Vizcaino,  in 
charge.  Three  barefooted  Carmelite  friars  accompanied  them,  seeking  riches,  too,  not  of  heathen 
gold  to  steal  but  of  heathen  souls  to  save. 

Vizcaino  kept  looking  for  Cabrillo's  pine-clad  ensenada.  December  16,  1602,  he  came  upon 
it.  One  ship  sped  back  to  Acapulco,  Mexico,  to  report  progress.  Meanwhile  Vizcaino  landed 
and,  standing  under  an  oak,  took  possession  in  the  name  of  King  Philip,  calling  the  bay 
"Monterey"  in  honor  of  his  patron. 

rf  •  The  friars  gave  the  name  of  their  order  to  the    river    that    flowed    a    league    away    from    the 
{1  '?  vending  place. 

Leaving  a  huge  wooden  cross  as  a  sign  that  the  land  was  the  King's,  Vizcaino  re-embarked 
and  spent  the  next  hours  preparing  a  report  of  his  discovery  for  King  Philip. 

After  dwelling  upon  the  great  size  of  the  harbor,  he  concluded  by  saying:  "This  port  is 
sheltered  from  all  winds,  while  on  the  immediate  shore  there  are  pines,  from  which  masts  of 
any  desired  length  can  be  obtained,  as  well  as  live  oaks  and  white  oaks,  rosemary,  the  vine,  the 
Rose  of  Alexandria,  a  great  variety  of  game  such  as  the  rabbit,  hare,  partridges  and  other  sorts 
of  species  found  in  Spain.  This  land  has  a  genial  climate,  its  waters  are  good  and  it  is  fertile, 


8  CALIFORN1AN  COLONIZATION 

• 

judging  from  the  varied  and  luxuriant  growth  of  trees  and  plants.  It  is  thickly  settled  with  a 
people  whom  I  found  to  be  of  a  gentle  disposition,  peaceable  and  tractable.  .  .  . 

"Their  food  consists  of  seeds,  which  they  have  in  great  abundance  and  variety,  and  of  flesh 
of  game  such  as  deer,  which  are  larger  than  cows,  and  of  bear,  neat  cattle  and  bisons  and  many 
other  animals.  The  Indians  are  of  good  stature  and  fair  complexion  and  pleasing  countenance.* 
»The  clothing  of  the  people  of  the  coast  lands  consists  of  the  skins  of  the  sea-wolves  (otter) 
abounding  there,  which  they  tan  and  dress  better  than  is  done  in  Castile;  they  possess  also,  in 
great  quantity,  flax  like  that  of  Castile,  hemp  and  cotton  from  which  they  make  fishing  lines  and 
nets  for  rabbits  and  hares. 

"They  have  vessels  of  pine  and  wood,  very  well  made,  in  which  they  go  to  sea,  fourteen 
paddlemen  to  the  side,  with  great  dexterity  in  stormy  weather.  They  are  well  acquainted  with 
gold  and  silver  and  said  they  were  found  in  the  interior." 

Some  dried  berries,  a  few  otter  skins  and  feather  ornaments  were  the  only  riches  Vizcaino 
brought  back  to  Mexico. 

In  spite  of  the  failure  of  both  Cabrillo  and  Vizcaino  to  find  riches,  King  Philip  sent  a  royal 
order  for  the  latter  to  take  possession  of  San  Diego  and  Monterey. 

The  old  sea  captain  died  before  the  expedition  was  ready  to  leave  Mexico;  so  the  Indians 
wandered,  yet  a  little  longer,  undisturbed  among  the  pines. 

At  night,  if  their  legends  be  true,  the  huge  cross  shone  like  a  thing  on  fire,  making  the 
bay  as  light  as  day.  They  hung  berries,  shells  and  fish  upon  the  cross,  for  they  feared  this  new 
God. 

Once,  a  sick  man  who  dropped  at  its  foot  and  begged  for  mercy  was  cured.  Ever  after,  they 
loved  and  worshiped  it  with  daily  offerings. 

CALIFORNIAN  COLONIZATION 

'The  octopus  arms  of  civil  war  were  crushing  Spain  and  for  a  century  she  had  no  strength 
for  foreign  conquest.     When  at  last  she  was   free,  the  Mexican  missionaries  claimed  her  attention. 
In  1745,  the  head  of  the  Missions,  in  addition  to  sending  in  the  regular  report,  set  forth  his 
own   views   of  what   the   missions   needed: 

"Vizcaino  probably  saw  some  of  the  interior  Indians  who  came  each  summer  to  get  a  supply  of  shell  fish  for  the 
winter,  hence  the  reference  to  their  size  and  fair  complexions. 


CALIFORNIAN  COLONIZATION  9 

"I  have  suggested  the  conquest  of  Pimeria  as  the  most  easy  and  inexpensive,  though  the  whole 
conquest  will  not  be  attended  with  such  valuable  consequences  as  a  single  colony  at  Monterey." 

The  flourishing,  ever-growing  Russian  settlements  along  the  North  California  coast,  his  own 
constantly  increasing  commerce  with  the  Philippines  and  the  expulsion  of  Jesuit  priests  from  the 
Lower  California  missions  kept  Monterey  before  the  eyes  of  Carlos  III. 

While  English  colonists  on  the  Eastern  coast  were  plotting  revolution  against  George  III, 
Carlos  III  authorized  the  exploration  and  occupation  of  San  Diego  and  Monterey. 

Determined  not  to  be  a  repetition  of  Vizcaino's  second  expedition,  this  one  started  in  four 
sections.  The  flagship,  San  Carlos,  with  Lieutenant  Fages  on  board,  left  La  Paz,  Mexico,  Janu- 
ary 9,  1769-  A  month  later,  February  15,  the  San  Antonio,  commanded  by  Juan  Perez,  followed. 

On  March  24>,  the  advance  section  of  the  land   party,  under   Rivera,  set  out   from   San   Bias. 
The  main  party,  headed  by   Don  Gaspar  de  Portola,  general   of  the  expedition  and   reputed  dis- 
coverer of  San   Francisco,  started  in   May.     With  them  was  Padre  Junipero   Serra,  President  of 
,»  the  missions  to  be  founded. 

Padre  Serra  was  afflicted  by  an  incurable  sore  on  his  leg  and  the  long  marches  made  it 
exceedingly  painful.  Finally  the  pain  became  so  severe  as  to  prevent  his  walking.  Someone  sug- 
gested making  a  litter  and  carrying  him.  He  refused. 

"So,"  says  his  friend,  Palou,  "he  prayed  to  God  fervently  for  help  and  calling  Juan  A.  Coro- 
nel,  a  mule-driver,  said,  'My  son,  can  you  find  some  remedy  for  my  sore  leg?' 

'  'What  remedy  can  I  have?'  replied  Coronel.  'I  am  only  a  mule-driver  and  can  only  cure 
the  wounds  of  my  beasts.' 

'  'Well,  son,'  said  the  Father,  'imagine  that  I  am  one  of  those  beasts  and  that  tliis  is  one  of 
their  wounds ;  apply  the  same  remedy.' 

"The    mule-driver,    smiling,    said,    'I    will    do  so,  Father,  to  please  you.'     Taking  some  suet, 
he  mixed  it  with  herbs,  making  a  kind  of  plaster    or    poultice,    which    was    applied    according    to 
-      directions.     God   rewarded  the  humility  of  his   servant  and  the  leg  got  better." 
V  SAN    DIEGO    FOUNDED 

In  spite  of  hardships,  all  four  parties  reached  San  Diego  safely;  Portola  last,  on  July  1, 
1769-  Mission  San  Diego  was  immediately  founded  and  the  San  Antonio  sent  back  to  San  Bias 
to  report  and  obtain  more  supplies  for  the  new  settlement. 


10  CALIFORNIAN  COLONIZATION 

Two  weeks  later,  the  combined  forces  of  Portola  and  Rivera,  sixty-five  men  in  all,  went  forth 
by  land  to  find  Monterey.  Padre  Serra  remained  behind  to  get  his  mission  into  good  working 
condition. 

v.  •  it'From  about  four  leagues  north  of  San  Diego,"  says  Lieutenant  Fages,  "Indian  natives  be- 
gan  to  present  themselves,  and  although  they  showed  excessive  fear  on  approaching  our  people,  in 
a  short  time  they  laid  aside  their  fears  and  accompanied  our  men  even  with  importunity  and 
fatigue,  immensely  satisfied  with  the  gifts  which  we  made  them — apportioning  them  strings  of 
glass  beads  and  other  trinkets,  which  they  admire  very  much.  From  them  we  obtained  the  need- 
ful information  about  roads  and  water  as  well  as  many  presents  of  game  and  fish." 

MONTEREY    REDISCOVERED 

>!  On  Saturday,  September  23,  the  exhausted  explorers  came  upon  a  canyon  through  which 
flowed  a  river.  They  believed  it  to  be  the  Carmelo,  as  there  were  large  trees  growing  on  its 
banks. 

They  followed  the  river  feverishly  for  a  week  and  then  sent  scouts  ahead  to  explore  its 
mouth.  The  scouts  returned  and  reported  that:  "the  river  emptied  into  an  estuary  which  entered 
the  canyon  from  the  sea;  that  the  beach  bordered  by  sand  dunes  had  been  seen  to  the  north  and 
south,  the  coast  forming  an  immense  bay,  and  that,  to  the  south,  there  was  a  low  hill  covered  with 
trees  like  pines,  which  terminated  in  a  point  in  the  sea."  They  decided  it  was  not  Monterey. 

In  November,  they  discovered  the  Bay  of  San  Francisco,  later  so  named  by  Padre  Serra.* 
Monterey  could  not  be  farther  north. 

Wearily,  on  November  11,  they  began  the  journey  home. 

They  stopped,  November  26,  at  the  old  camping  ground  on  what  they  had  at  first  thought 
was  the  Rio  Carmelo.  The  end  of  two  weeks  of  fruitlessly  exploring  the  bay  found  them  ready  to 
give  up  and  go  home. 

There  is  a  tired  conciseness  in  Costanso's*  portrayal  of  their  departure:  "Sund.  Dec.  10: 
Before  leaving  this  Bay  we  erected  a  cross  upon  the  beach  with  an  inscription  cut  into  the 
wood  'Dig,  at  the  foot  thou  wilt  find  a  writing.'  " 

*Many  prominent  historians  claim  that  Sir  Francis  Drake  discovered  and   named   San  Francisco    Bay    on    his 
famous  trip  around  the  world.     There  does  not  seem  to  be  any  proof  that  their  contentions  are  correct. 

"Costanso  was  the  engineer  of  the  expedition. 


CALIFORNIAN  COLONIZATION  11 

After  giving  a  brief  account  of  their  journey,  the  writing  concluded:  "Finally,  now  disap- 
pointed and  despairing  of  finding  the  port  after  so  many  endeavors,  labors  and  hardships,  and 
without  other  provisions  than  fourteen  sacks  of  flour,  the  expedition  sets  out  this  day  from  this 
Bay  for  San  Diego." 

January  24,  they  reached  San  Diego,  only  to  learn  of  bitter  sufferings  there.  Undaunted, 
Padre  Serra  set  out  in  the  San  Antonio  and  Portola  again  took  the  trail  north. 

Less  than  four  months  sufficed  to  bring  the  land  party  once  more  to  the  cross  they  had 
planted,  unknowingly,  on  the  shores  of  Monterey  Bay.  This  time  they  readily  recognized  the  long- 
sought  harbor. 

While  waiting  for  the  San  Antonio,  they  were  busy  making  friends  with  the  Indians.  "The 
natives  of  Monterey,"  says  Costanso  in  his  diary,  "live  in  the  hills,  the  nearest  about  one  and  a 
half  leagues  from  the  coast.  These  mountaineers  are  extremely  gentle.  They  never  come  to 
visit  the  Spaniards  without  bringing  them  a  substantial  present  of  game,  which,  as  a  rule,  consists 
of  two  or  three  deer  or  antelope,  which  they  offer  without  demanding  or  even  asking  anything  in 
return." 

Won  by  presents  of  beads  and  ribbons,  the  Indians  readily  told  their  legends  of  the  visit  of 
Vizcaino  and  the  cross  of  fire  as  well  as  many  things  about  their  own  religion  and  their  God, 
Chinigchinig. 

On  Wednesday,  May  30,  one  week  after  Portola's  arrival,  the  San  Antonio,  bringing  Padre 
Serra  and  all  things  necessary  for  the  founding  of  three  missions,  anchored  close  up  to  the  shore. 

Four  days  later,  on  the  third  of  June,  1770,  was  founded  the  mission  and  presidio  of  San 
Carlos  Borromeo  de  Monterey. 

San  Carlos  (Saint  Charles)  was  the  son  of  an  Italian  nobleman.  He  gave  up  the  pleasures 
of  a  life  at  court  to  enter  the  priesthood.  He  died  in  1/584  and  was  canonized  a  saint  in  1610. 
For  him  the  mission  was  named  and  to  him  dedicated. 

"On  the  feast  of  Pentecost,"  writes  Padre  Serra,  in  a  letter  to  the  Grand  Master  in  Mexico, 
"close  by  the  same  shore  and  under  the  same  oak-tree  under  which  the  Fathers  of  Vizcaino's  expe- 
dition had  celebrated  mass,  we  built  an  altar.  After  the  ringing  of  the  bells  and  the  singing  of 
the  Hymn  Veni  Creator,  the  water  was  blessed  and  we  erected  and  blessed  a  great  cross  and 
unfurled  the  royal  colors. 


U^J^ 

12  CALIFORNIAN  COLONIZATION 

"I  then  sang  the  first  High  Mass  known  to  have  been  offered  at  this  place.  During  mass 
I  preached  and  at  its  conclusion  we  chanted  the  Salve  Regina  before  a  picture  of  Our  Lady, 
which  occupied  a  place  on  the  altar.  The  ceremonies  were  concluded  with  the  singing  of  the 
Te  Deum,  after  which  the  officers  performed  the  act  of  taking  possession  of  the  land  in  the  name 
of  the  King,  our  Lord.  The  celebration  was  accompanied  with  the  firing  of  cannon,  both  on 
land  and  on  board  the  ship." 

This  letter  was  despatched  to  Mexico  by  Portola,  who  sailed  south  on  the  San  Antonio,  turn- 
ing his  command  over  to  Lieutenant  Fages. 

All  hands  set  to  work  putting  up  a  rustic  shelter  of  boughs  and  tule  grass  for  the  altar. 

Eager  for  more  beads,  the  Indians  brought  great  limbs  of  trees  and  the  choicest  of  tall  tules. 
There  was  nothing  warlike  about  these  Indians.  They  were  skilled  in  the  arts  of  peace  alone. 

With  Junipero  Serra  had  come  his  lifelong  friend,  Padre  Palou.  While  Padre  Serra  was  busy 
with  the  actual  conduct  of  the  mission,  Fray  Palou  was  studying  Indians.  Some  of  their  customs, 
as  he  reports  them,  are  quite  odd: 

"All  the  natives  of  Upper  California,  both  men  and  women,  cut  their  haii  very  short,  especially 
when  some  of  their  relatives  or  friends  die.  In  these  cases,  they  also  put  ashes  on  their  heads, 
faces  and  other  parts  of  the  body. 

"Both  sexes  go  nearly  naked,  having  only  a  wrapper  around  the  waist.  In  winter  they  use 
a  sort  of  outer  garment  of  deer-skin  or  otter-skin,  or  the  feathers  of  water  fowl.  These  latter  are 
chiefly  worn  by  the  women.  The  feathers  are  twisted  or  tied  together  into  a  sort  of  ropes  and 
these  are  then  tied  together  so  as  to  leave  a  feathery  surface  on  both  sides. 

"The  natives  of  this  part  of  the  country  maintain  themselves  by  the  seeds  and  herbs  of  the 
field,  to  collect  which,  when  in  season,  is  the  duty  of  the  women.  The  seeds  they  grind  and  of 
the  flour  make  gruel  and  sometimes  a  kind  of  pudding  of  dough,  which  they  form  into  balls  of  the 
size  of  an  orange.  Some  of  the  flour  has  an  agreeable  taste  and  is  very  nutritious ;  that  produced 
from  a  black  seed  has  the  taste  of  toasted  almonds.  To  this  diet  they  add  fish  which  they  catch 
on  the  shores  of  the  Bay  and  which  are  exceedingly  good ;  they  have  also  shell  fish  in  abundance." 

"In  removing,  they  take  all  their  furniture  on  their  shoulders.  It  consists  of:  a  chest,  a  dish, 
a  bowl  made  in  the  shape  of  a  high-crowned  hat,  a  bone  which  serves  them  for  an  awl  in  making  it, 
a  little  piece  of  touchstone  for  kindling  a  fire,  a  small  net  in  which  they  put  their  fruit  and  nuts, 


CALIFORNIAN  COLONIZATION  13 

another  in  the  shape  of  a  purse  or  bag  fastened  to  a  kind  of  prong  across  their  shoulders,  in  whieh 
they  carry  their  children,  and  lastly,  their  bow  and  arrows,  to  which  some,  who  affect  elegancy, 
add  a  horn  for  drinking.  Those  who  live  near  the  coast  have  also  a  net  for  fishing." 

SAN    CARLOS   DEL   CARMELO 

For  a  year  the  mission  remained  at  Monterey.  Padre  Serra  had  come  to  realize  by  that  time 
that  it  would  prosper  better  in  the  valley  of  El  Rio  Carmelo,  five  miles  away.  The  crops  had  to 
be  raised  there;  most  of  the  Indians  lived  there  and  they  would  be  farther  from  the  evil  influences 
of  the  Presidio  in  that  place.  The  mission  at  Monterey  was  therefore  abandoned  and  moved  to 
Carmel. 

Neophytes  at  once  began  to  get  timbers  ready  for  a  new  church.  A  few  months  later,  Padre 
Serra  reported  that:  "A  line  of  strong,  high  posts,  set  into  the  ground  close  together,  enclosed  a 
rectangular  space  which  contained  simple  wooden  houses  serving  as  church  and  dwellings.  The 
walls  of  these  took  the  stockade  form.  The  square  was  seventy  yards  long  and  forty-three  yards 
wide,  with  ravelins  at  the  corners.  For  want  of  nails,  the  upright  palisades  were  not  secured  at 
the  top. 

"Within,  the  chief  building,  also  of  palisade  walls,  plastered  inside  and  out  with  clay,  meas- 
ured seven  by  fifty  yards  and  was  divided  into  six  rooms.  One  room  served  for  a  church,  another 
for  the  missionaries  and  a  third  for  a  store-room.  The  best  rooms  were  whitewashed.  This 
building  was  roofed  with  timbers,  which  were  covered  with  mud.  A  slighter  structure,  used  as  a 
kitchen,  was  roofed  with  grass.  Outside  the  stockade  were  the  huts  of  the  Indians." 

In  this  chapel,  with  the  help  of  their  portable  grind  organ,  whose  front  was  made  to  resemble 
a  pipe-organ,  Padres  Serra  and  Palou  said  mass  and  tried  to  teach  Christianity  to  the  Indians. 

San  Carlos  Borromeo  del  Carmelo  de  Monterey  became  the  capital  of  the  missions,  where 
Padre  Serra  himself  labored.  For  such  a  position,  a  mere  log  chapel  would  not  suffice.  They 
immediately  commenced  to  quarry  stone  from  the  nearby  hills  for  a  new  church.  Before  Padre 
Serra  died,  the  walls  of  this  building  were  about  ten  feet  high.  It  was  completed  after  his  death. 

Besides   San   Carlos,   only   the   Royal   Chapel   at    Monterey    and    Mission    Santa    Barbara    ever 
had  stone  chapels. 
>\  The   Indians  took  kindly  to  the  monotonous  life   of   prayer,   work   and   sleep   and    San    Carlos 


14  CALIFORNIAN  COLONIZATION 

prospered.     General  Pages'  report  of   1773  showed  "That  there  were  162  neophytes.     Of  these,  15 
had  been  baptized  and  there  had  been  26  marriages." 

The  children  were  in  time  taught  to  weave,  crochet  and  knit,  to  practice  carpentry,  to  forge 
and  plow,  and,  according  to  church  authority,  a  few  of  the  brightest  to  read  and  write;  but  always 
with  a  view  merely  of  teaching  them  to  do,  never  of  training  them  to  teach  others.  The  Padres 
looked  after  their  social  needs,  too,  and  as  substitutes  for  their  savage  and  often  immoral  dances 
provided  bull-fights,  cock-fights,  horse  races,  civilized  dances  and  simple  games. 

"The  control  of  the  neophytes,"  ran  the  royal  decree,  "and  their  education  and  correction 
are  to  be  left  exclusively  to  the  friars,  acting  in  the  capacity  of  fathers  toward  children." 

Some  idea  of  the  amount  of  work  they  accomplished  may  be  gathered  from  a  letter  of  Padre 
Serra  to  Mexico,  dated  Sept.  9,  1774: 

"This  year  there  have  been  harvested  at  this  mission,  in  addition  to  20  fanegas  (bushels)  of 
barley,  125  of  wheat,  together  with  some  horse-beans,  and  a  greater  quantity  of  kidney-beans  and 
continuous  crops  from  the  vegetable  gardens,  in  the  consumption  of  which  all  share.  There  is 
reason  for  expecting  a  fair  return  from  the  maize  sown,  as  it  is  now  well  grown  and  in  good 
condition. 

"There  will  be  obtained  a  goodly  number  of  fish  from  the  abundance  of  sardines  which  for 
twenty  days  have  been  spawning  along  the  beach  near  this  mission,  and  a  reasonable  harvest  from 
the  spiritual  advancement  we  are  experiencing  every  day,  thanks  be  to  God.  At  all  the  missions 
preparations  are  making  for  more  extensive  sowings  next  year  and  I  trust  in  God  that  a  happy 
outcome  may  attend  the  work." 

A   PIONEER   CAPITAL 

Until  Governor  Neve  arrived  in  1774,  life  at  the  Presidio  was  almost  as  monotonous  as  that 
at  the  mission.  The  soldiers  had  to  assist  in  putting  up  their  quarters  and  in  cultivating  enough 
ground  to  raise  a  part  of  their  own  food.  They  spent  their  spare  time  smoking,  playing  cards, 
drinking  sweet  wine  from  the  Southern  Missions  and  making  secret  love  to  the  Indian  girls  who 
came  over  from  San  Carlos  to  work  for  the  officers.  In  fact,  "in  1773,  three  soldiers  had  already 
married  native  women." 


CALIFORNIAN  COLONIZATION  15 

The  mail  that  came  from  Spain  in  1776  brought  a  royal  command  for  the  Governor  to  reside 
in  Monterey  as  the  capital  of  both  Baja  (Southern)  and  Alta  (Northern)  California. 

Monterey  had  become  in  one  day  mistress  of  a  land  of  fabled  riches.  Yet  the  even  tenor  of 
her  existence  was  broken  only  by  Governor  Neve's  wordy  quarrels  with  President  Serra  when  one 
assumed  prerogatives  of  mission  control  that  were  claimed  by  the  other. 

A  little  diversion  was  furnished  in  1781.  For  the  first  time  in  Monterey's  history,  the  gal- 
leon carrying  the  rich  cargoes  from  Manila  to  Spain  failed  to  anchor  there  en  route  to  the  home 
port.  Word  was  sent  post  haste  to  Senor  Galvez,  Minister  of  State  for  Mexico  and  California. 
He  communicated  with  the  King,  who  decreed  that:  "In  future  galleons  must  call  at  Monterey 
under  a  penalty  of  $4,000,  unless  prevented  by  contrary  winds." 

In  the  mail  of  1782,  Governor  Neve  received  the  welcome  news  of  his  recall  to  Mexico.  He 
immediately  prepared  his  official  reports  and  a  long  series  of  instructions  for  his  successor,  Senor 
Fages. 

Of  first  importance,  he  warned  Fages,  was  the  maintenance  of  friendly  relations  with  the 
Indians.  For  this  purpose  he  had  left  several  boxes  of  glass  beads  and  71  bundles  of  ribbons  to 
be  distributed  as  gifts  among  them. 

Governor  Fages  found  life  in  Monterey  unpleasantly  lonesome.  In  March,  1784,  he  brought 
wife,  Dona  Eulalia,  and  his  little  son,  Pedrlto,  from  Loreto.  Thus  unpretentiously  began  the 
social  life  of  the  Spanish  capital. 

Dona  Eulalia  had  seen  very  few  Indians  on  her  journey  from  Mexico  to  meet  her  husband 
at  Loreto.  From  thence  they  came  by  boat  and  she  saw  none.  Horror  and  motherly  pity  filled 
her  heart  at  the  sight  of  dozens  of  them  around  Monterey  nearly  naked  just  as  before  the  coming 
of  the  white  men.  In  a  vain  attempt  to  relieve  their  supposed  suffering,  she  gave  them  nearly  all 
her  own  dresses,  to  the  immense  delight  of  the  Indians,  who  used  them  for  everything  except  to 
wear. 

Life  at  the  Presidio  was  no  longer  dull.  Very  often  the  lights  twinkled  there  long  after  the 
stars  were  asleep  and  the  birds'  matins  were  mingled  with  the  dancing  strains  of  tinkling  guitars. 

DEATH  OF  PADRE  SERRA 

One  morning,  a  strange,  somber  sound  broke  upon  the  ears  of  the  dancers.  It  was  the  chapel 
bell  of  San  Carlos,  tolling  the  death  of  Padre  Junipero  Serra.  He  died  August  28,  1784. 


l<6 


CALIFORNIAN  COLONIZATION 


As  soon  as  Padre  Palou  realized  that  his  loved  friend  was  dead,  he  had  commanded  the  be- 
wildered neophytes  to  toll  the  bell. 

Three  days  before,  warned  by  a  dream  that  his  life  was  near  its  end,  Fray  Junipero  had 
superintended  the  making  of  his  own  coffin.  Now,  in  the  same  garments  in  which  he  had  died, 
his  body  was  laid  in  the  coffin,  around  which  six  candles  burned. 

The  doors  were  opened  and  the  neophytes,  released  for  the  day  from  mission  discipline, 
heaped  bouquets  of  wild  flowers  at  his  feet,  touched  his  hands  with  their  rosaries  and  called  him 
"Holy  Father"  and  "Blessed  One." 

At  dusk,  the  neophytes,  soldiers  and  sailors  formed  a  procession  and  carried  Padre  Serra's 
body  to  the  church.  A  table,  with  six  wax  candles  already  lighted,  stood  ready  to  receive  the 
revered  remains. 

Two  soldiers  were  put  on  guard  to  see  that  no  one  touched  the  body.  All  night,  devout 
groups  took  turns  repeating  the  Rosary  and  keeping  tearful  watch.  In  the  morning,  Fray  Palou 
found  that  bits  of  the  Venerable  Father's  habit  and  locks  of  hair  had  been  stolen  for  relics  by 
those  who  sought  a  special  blessing. 

On  Sunday,  August  29,  the  Requiem  Mass  was  sung.  No  man,  woman  or  child  who  was 
able  to  leave  his  bed  was  absent.  All  day  long  the  chapel  bell  tolled  and  every  half  hour 
cannon  were  fired.  The  Indian  choir  sang  a  dirge  at  the  end  of  the  ceremony,  but  the  sobs  of 
the  people  drowned  the  voices  of  the  chanters. 

As  the  last  amen  was  pronounced,  the  people  pressed  forward,  begging  for  relics.  Fray 
Palou  had  none  to  give,  but  promised  to  bless  and  distribute  whatever  relics  he  could  find,  on 
September  5. 

On  the  appointed  day,  he  presented  to  all  who  came  tiny  bits  of  Padre  Serra's  undergar- 
ments. To  the  royal  surgeon  he  gave  one  of  the  President's  handkerchiefs. 

Years  later,  the  surgeon  told  of  a  poor  sailor  whose  apparently  incurable  headache  had  been 
miraculously  removed  by  binding  the  handkerchief  on  his  head. 

The  soldiers  stationed  at  San  Carlos  said  that  for  many  years,  at  whatever  hour  of  the  night 
the  guard  was  changed,  they  could  hear  Padre  Serra  praying. 

Junipero  Serra,  pioneer  founder  of  the  missions   of   Alta    California,   was   born   in   Mallorca,* 
*Also  spelled  "Majorca." 


CALIFORNIAN  COLONIZATION  17 

Spain,  November  24,  1713.  He  entered  the  priesthood  while  yet  a  boy  and  soon  became  famous 
for  his  piety.  When  the  call  came  for  foreign  missionaries,  he  begged  to  be  allowed  to  go  to 
America.  Church  officials  considered  him  too  young.  Later,  his  request  was  granted  and,  with 
Palou,  he  gave  up  a  career  to  save  the  heathen. 

Kind,  loving,  patient — save  when  the  Governors  interfered  with  his  prerogatives  —  coura- 
geous, and,  above  all,  a  zealous  Catholic,  such  a  man  was  Junipero  Serra.  Even  today,  his  teach- 
ings are  not  forgotten,  nor  is  his  stern  doctrine  of  self-punishment  to  atone  for  sin. 

A  strange  story  is  told  of  one  of  his  modern  disciples :  A  few  years  ago,  a  young  man  was 
out  hunting  deer.  Suddenly  he  came  upon  a  fresh  trail  of  blood  leading  away  from  the  road.  As 
he  followed  it,  the  trail  became  steadily  larger.  Thinking  it  was  some  wounded  animal,  he  held  his 
gun  cocked  ready  to  put  the  poor  creature  out  of  its  misery. 

All  at  once  he  stopped.  His  gun  dropped  to  the  ground  and  a  cry  of  horror  broke  from  his 
lips.  Startled  by  the  noise,  a  young  Indian  woman  looked  around.  She  held  a  jagged  piece  of 
quartz  in  each  hand.  With  these  she  was  tearing  the  flesh  on  her  arms  and  body.  Behind  her 
trailed  a  heavy  log,  which  she  was  dragging  along  by  a  rope  knotted  around  her  head. 

No  shot  was  needed  to  end  her  suffering.  Pain  and  loss  of  blood  had  nearly  accomplished 
that.  To  the  man,  who  vainly  tried  to  bind  up  her  wounds,  she  whispered  in  broken  English: 
"My  baby,  he  get  so  sick  and  I  pray,  O,  how  I  pray!  But  my  baby  died.  Then  I  know  the 
white  man's  God  is  angry  at  my  boy.  He  never  have  been  baptized.  My  mother  tell  me  the 
great  Padre  Serra  say  we  must  suffer  to  save  others,  like  one  big  man  did,  long  time  ago.  So  I 
suffer  for  my  baby.  I  no — mind  die,  only  I  'fraid — he — no — go — to — hea-ven."  The  last  word 
started  her  soul  on  its  eternal  quest  for  the  baby  she  had  lost. 

Palou,  at  the  earnest  entreaty  of  the  neophytes,  the  government  officials  and  the  other  Padres, 
assumed  the  office  of  President  until  a  formal  appointment  could  be  made. 

In  response  to  his  appeal  that  his   great  age  unfitted  him  for  such  heavy  responsibilities,  the 
authorities  selected  Fermin  Francis  de  Lasuen  to  succeed  Palou.     Lasuen  was  a  native  of  Victoria, 
Spain,  and  had  been  working  in  the  California  missions  since  1768. 
» %  A   prominent  historian   says   of   him: 

"His  piety  and  humility  were  of  an  agreeable    type,    unobtrusive   and    blended    with   common 


18  CALIFORNIAN  COLONIZATION 

sense.  Padre  Lasuen,  to  a  remarkable  degree  for  his  time  and  environment,  based  his  hopes  of 
future  reward  on  purity  of  life,  kindness  and  courtesy  to  all  and  a  zealous  performance  of  duty 
as  a  man,  a  Christian  and  a  Franciscan." 

The  need  of  some  organized  religious  instruction  for  the  inhabitants  of  Monterey  was  begin- 
ning to  be  felt.  Accordingly,  in  1790,  a  church  was  erected,  called  the  Chapel  of  Our  Lady  of 
Guadalupe,  ornamented  in  front  with  a  picture  of  Our  Lady.  In  the  walk  before  it  was  a  Star  of 
Hope,  made  of  the  vertebrae  of  whales,  then  so  common  in  the  Bay.  This  was  the  first  church,  as 
distinct  from  a  mission,  established  in  California.  Since  it  was  the  chapel  in  which  the  King's 
representative  worshiped,  it  came  to  be  known  as  the  Royal  Chapel,  the  only  one  ever  built  in 
California. 

A  Padre  from  the  mission  went  over  to  Monterey  once  a  week  and  said  mass.  Sometimes, 
if  he  was  very  busy,  only  once  a  month.  He  would  go,  too,  for  weddings  or  christenings  or  funerals 
and  occasionally  for  some  special  holiday. 

FIRST   FOREIGN   VISITOR 

Four  years  before  the  Royal  Chapel  was  built,  Governor  Fages  and  Doiia  Eulalia  gave  a  ball 
in  honor  of  the  great  French  scientist,  M.  La  Perousse.  It  was  the  first  reception  to  a  foreign 
visitor  ever  held  in  California. 

La  Perousse  had  been  sent  by  his  King  to  study  and  report  on  the  exact  conditions  in  these 
newest  colonies  of  Spain. 

How  well  Governor  Fages  succeeded  in  making  the  scientist's  stay  pleasant,  is  best  told  in 
La  Perousse's  own  words: 

fi  "Cattle,  garden  stuff  and  milk  were  sent  aboard  in  abundance.  The  desire  of  serving  us 
seemed  even  to  disturb  the  harmony  between  the  commander  of  the  two  vessels  (government 
frigates)  and  Governor  Fages.  Each  was  desirous  of  providing  exclusively  for  our  wants;  and 
when  the  account  was  to  be  discharged,  we  were  obliged  to  insist  on  their  receiving  our  money. 

"The  garden  stuff,  milk  and  poultry  and  the  assistance  of  the  garrison  in  wooding  and  water- 
ing were  offered  free;  and  the  cattle,  sheep  and  corn  were  charged  at  so  low  a  rate  that  it  was 
evident  an  account  had  been  presented  to  us  merely  because  we  had  insisted  upon  it. 

"Now,   as  to  the   place   itself.      Monterey   Bay,  formed  by  New  Year's  Point  to  the  north  and 


CALIFORNIAN  COLONIZATION  19 

Point  Cypress  to  the  south,  presents  an  opening  of  eight  leagues  in  this  direction  and  nearly  six 
in  depth.  To  the  east,  the  land  is  low  and  sandy.  The  sea  rolls  to  the  foot  of  the  sandy  downs 
which  border  the  coast  and  produces  a  noise  which  we  heard  when  more  than  a  league  distant. 
The  lands  to  the  north  and  south  of  this  Bay  are  elevated  and  covered  with  trees. 

"The  Spanish  vessels  which  make  a  long  stay  at  Monterey  usually  come  within  six  fathoms 
of  the  shore  and  anchor  in  the  sand.  They  are  then  protected  from  the  strong  south  winds. 

"There  were  many  whales.  The  sea  was  covered  with  pelicans.  I  have  since  been  informed 
that  they  are  common  over  the  whole  coast  of  California. 

"European  cultivators  can  form  no  conception  of  as  abundant  fertility  of  wheat,  etc.  Fruit 
trees  are  extremely  scarce,  but  the  climate  is  proper  for  their  cultivation.  The  forest  trees  stand 
apart  from  each  other  without  underwood  and  a  verdant  carpet  over  which  it  is  pleasant  to  walk 
covers  the  ground.  There  are  vacant  places,  several  leagues  in  extent,  forming  vast  plains  cov- 
ered with  all  sorts  of  game.  The  land,  though  very  productive,  is  light  and  sandy  and  owes  its 
fertility  to  the  humidity  of  the  air.  The  nearest  running  stream  to  the  Presidio  is  two  leagues 
distant.  It  is  called  by  the  ancient  navigators,  Rio  de  Carmel. 

A    DAY    WITH    THE   NEOPHYTES 

"The  church  (at  Carmel)  is  neat,  though  thatched  with  straw.  Adorning  it  are  some  toler- 
able pictures  copied  from  originals  in  Italy.  Among  the  number  is  a  picture  of  hell,  in  which 
the  painter  appears  to  have  borrowed  from  the  imagination  of  Callot.  As  the  imagination  of  these 
new  converts  must  be  struck  with  the  liveliest  impressions,  I  am  persuaded  that  such  a  representa- 
tion was  never  more  useful  in  any  country.  I  doubt  whether  the  picture  of  Paradise,  opposite  to 
that  of  hell,  produces  so  good  an  effect.  The  state  of  tranquillity  which  it  represents  is  an  idea 
too  abstruse  for  the  uncultivated  savages.  But  rewards  must  be  put  by  the  side  of  punishments 
and  it  was  a  point  of  duty  that  no  change  be  permitted  in  the  kind  of  enjoyments  which  the 
Catholic  religion  promises  to  men. 

/\  "The  house  of  the  missionaries  as  well  as  the   different   storehouses    are    opposite   the    church. 

The  Indian  village  stands  on  the  right,  consisting  of  about  fifty  huts,  which  serve  for  740  persons 
of  both  sexes,  including  the  children,  which  compose  the  Mission  of  San  Carlos.  These  huts  are 
the  most  wretched  that  are  anywhere  met  with.  They  are  round,  six  feet  in  diameter  and  four 


20  CALIFORNIAN  COLONIZATION 

feet  high.  Some  stakes,  the  thickness  of  a  man's  arm,  stuck  in  the  ground  and  meeting  at  the 
top,  compose  the  frame.  Eight  or  ten  bundles  of  straw,  ill-arranged  over  these  stakes,  are  the 
only  defense  against  the  rain.  When  the  weather  is  fine,  more  than  half  the  hut  remains  uncovered. 

"The  Indians  who  have  embraced  Christianity  are,  in  general,  diminutive  and  weak  and 
exhibit  none  of  that  spirit  of  independence  which  characterizes  the  natives  of  the  north.  Their 
color  nearly  approaches  that  of  the  negroes  whose  hair  is  not  woolly. 

"These  Indians  are  extremely  skilful  with  the  bow.  Their  patience  in  approaching  their  prey 
is  inexpressible.  Their  industry  in  hunting  larger  game  is  still  more  remarkable. 

"They  have  two  games  at  which  they  spend  a  great  deal  of  time.  The  first  of  these  is  called 
Takersia.  It  consists  in  throwing  a  little  ring,  about  three  inches  in  diameter,  and  making  it  roll 
in  a  space  ten  fathoms  (about  65  feet)  square,  covered  with  grass  and  surrounded  by  bits  of  wood. 
Each  of  the  two  players  has  a  stick  about  the  size  of  an  ordinary  cane  and  about  five  feet  long. 
They  try  to  put  this  stick  through  the  ring  while  it  is  in  motion.  If  they  succeed,  they  gain  two 
points.  If  the  ring,  when  it  stops  rolling,  reposes  on  their  stick,  they  gain  one  point.  The  game 
is  three  points. 

"The  other  game  is  called  Toussi.  There  are  four  players,  two  on  each  side.  Each,  in  his 
turn,  hides  a  bit  of  wood  in  one  of  his  hands,  while  his  partner  shouts  and  makes  a  thousand  ges- 
tures to  attract  the  attention  of  their  adversaries,  who  must  guess  which  hand  holds  the  wood. 
They  gain  or  lose  a  point  according  as  they  have  guessed  well  or  ill  and  the  side  which  gains  has 
a  right  to  hide  the  wood  in  their  turn.  The  game  is  five  points. 

"Men  and  women  are  called  together  at  the  sound  of  a  bell;  a  priest  conducts  them  to  work, 
to  church  and  to  all  their  exercises.  I  say  it  with  regret,  the  memory  is  so  painful,  that  I  have 
seen  men  and  women  in  irons,  others  in  the  stocks  and,  besides,  the  sound  of  blows  with  whips 
might  have  been  heard,  for  this  punishment,  too,  is  permitted,  though  administered  with  little 
severity. 

"Corporal  punishment  is  inflicted  on  Indians  of  both  sexes  who  fail  in  their  religious  exer- 
cises. Many  offenses,  whose  punishment,  in  Europe,  would  be  left  to  Divine  justice,  are  punished 
here  by  irons  or  stocks. 

"The   Indians,  like  the  missionaries,  rise  with  the  sun;  go  to  prayer  and  mass,  which  last  one 


CAL1FORN1AN  COLONIZATION  21 

vlb'    ' 

hour.  During  this  time,  in  the  middle  of  the  square,  they  are  cooking  some  barley  flour,  that  has 
been  parched  before  it  was  ground,  in  three  large  kettles.  This  sort  of  broth,  which  the  Indians 
call  Atole  and  which  they  like  very  much,  is  not  seasoned  with  pepper  or  salt  and  for  us  would 
be  very  insipid. 

"Each  hut  sends  and  gets  the  rations  for  all  its  inhabitants  on  a  piece  of  bark.  There  is 
neither  confusion  nor  disorder.  When  the  kettles  are  empty,  the  scrapings  are  given  to  the 
children  who  have  done  best  in  their  Catechism. 

"This  meal  lasts  for  three-quarters  of  an  hour,  after  which  they  all  go  to  their  labor,  some 
to  plow  the  land  with  oxen,  others  to  spade  the  garden,  etc. 

"The  women  do  scarcely  anything  except  attend  to  their  own  and  their  children's  personal 
needs  and  grind  the  grain.  This  latter  operation  is  very  difficult  and  slow,  as  they  have  no  other 
way  of  doing  it  than  to  crush  the  grain  on  a  stone  with  a  cylindrical  piece  of  rock. 

"M.  de  Langle  made  the  missionaries  a  present  of  his  mill.  Now  there  will  be  time  for  spin- 
ning the  wool  of  the  sheep  and  for  making  coarse  stuffs.  But,  up  to  the  present,  the  Padres, 
more  concerned  with  their  spiritual  welfare  than  their  temporal  needs,  have  sadly  neglected  the 
introduction  of  the  most  useful  arts.  They  are,  themselves,  so  austere  that  they  have  only  a  single 
room  in  which,  there  can  be  a  fire,  though  it  gets  very  cold  here  in  winter. 

"At  noon,  the  bell  announces  dinner.  The  Indians  thereupon  leave  work  and  send  for  their 
rations  in  the  same  dish  in  which  they  got  their  breakfast.  This  second  broth  is  thicker  than  the 
first  and  there  is  wheat,  corn  and  beans  added  to  it.  The  Indians  call  it  Poussoli. 

"They  return  to  work  at  two  o'clock  and  work  till  five  or  six.  They  then  have  evening  prayer, 
which  lasts  nearly  an  hour  and  which  is  followed  by  a  new  ration  of  Atole  like  that  which  they 
had  for  breakfast.  Such  are  all  their  days." 

La  Perousse  published  his  report  in  1792.  That  year,  England  sent  one  of  her  own  scientists, 
George  Vancouver,  to  find  out  what  conditions  in  California  really  were.  He,  too,  was  impressed 
with  the  hospitality  of  the  Padres  and  the  wretched  life  of  the  neophytes. 

"Our  reception  at  the  mission,"  he  reports,  "could  not  fail  to  convince  us  of  the  joy  and  sat- 
isfaction we  communicated  to  the  worthy  Fathers,  who  in  return  made  the  most  hospitable  offers 
of  every  refreshment  the  homely  abode  afforded. 


22  CALIFORN1AN  COLONIZATION 

"An  Indian  village  is  in  the  neighborhood;  it  appeared  to  us  small,  yet  the  number  of  its 
inhabitants  under  the  immediate  direction  of  this  mission  are  said  to  be  800.  Notwithstanding 
these  people  are  taught  and  employed  from  time  to  time  in  many  of  the  occupations  most  useful 
to  civilized  society,  they  had  not  made  themselves  any  more  comfortable  habitations  than  those 
of  their  forefathers;  nor  did  they  seem  in  any  respect  to  have  benefited  by  the  instruction  they 
had  received." 

SOCIETY    IN    SPANISH    MONTEREY 

In  1802,  one  year  before  Padre  Lasuen's  death,  Sefior  Munras,  the  first  regularly  trained 
surgeon,  came  to  Monterey.  He  ranked  as  a  captain  in  the  army  and  brought  with  him  his  wife 
and  little  son. 

Twenty-two  years  later,  the  Captain's  son  married.  The  hollow  square  of  adobes,  on  El 
Camino  Real,  very  near  the  Royal  Chapel,  that  he  built  for  his  bride  was  the  first  home,  apart 
from  the  officers'  quarters,  in  Monterey.  Following  the  custom  of  Mexico,  the  Montereyans  had 
been  warming  their  rooms  by  means  of  live  coals  placed  in  a  pan. 

In  his  childhood,  Sefior  Munras'  mother  had  told  him  of  fireplaces  in  Spain.  A  favorite  with 
the  Padres,  he  easily  secured  their  best  neophyte  workmen.  By  using  much  time  and  more 
patience,  he  finally  succeeded  in  having  them  build  two  fireplaces  in  his  new  home.  They  were 
the  first  in  Alta  California. 

One  day,  the  ladies  of  Monterey  helped  put  things  in  order  in  the  new  home  and  the  next 
came  to  take  three  o'clock  tea  with  the  bride.  All  the  older  matrons,  in  their  best  stiff  silks  and 
gay  bonnets,  sat  round  the  big  dining  table.  In  tones  as  dainty  as  the  cups  from  which  they 
sipped  their  tea,  they  chatted  of  Dona  this  and  Dona  that  and  the  ball  of  Saturday  night. 

In  the  next  room  might  be  heard  the  soft  music  of  guitars,  the  light  laughter  of  young  girls 
and  the  rhythmic  click  of  their  slipper  heels  as  they  danced  the  dreamy  afternoon  away. 

It  was  Dona  Munras'  first  tea  and  nearly  all  her  guests  remained  to  partake  of  the  evening 
meal,  served  by  awkward  Indian  girls  sent  over  from  Mission  San  Carlos. 

The  gentlemen  came  in  the  evening.  The  old  ladies  acted  as  chaperones.  The  young  folks 
spent  the  night  in  dancing  and  planning  tomorrow's  picnic. 

As  the  first  notes  of  the  contradanza  rose  above  the  music  of  happy  voices  and  eager  laugh- 


CALIFORN1AN  COLONIZATION  23 

ter,  each  caballero  hastened  to  his  partner's  side.  The  couples  formed  as  for  a  quadrille;  but  the 
intricate  steps  that  followed  bore  no  resemblance  to  its  American  cousin. 

The  dancers  were  scarcely  seated  when  the  quick  music  of  "La  Jota"  sounded.  Each  Don 
sped  to  the  Senorita  of  his  choice  and,  spreading  his  bright  silk  scrape  (cloak)  before  her  feet, 
sang  a  love  ditty,  improvised  if  possible,  to  entreat  her  to  dance  with  him. 

A  young  officer  knelt  before  the  bride,  singing: 

PUDICA  JOVEN  (MODEST  MAID). 
Pudica  joven  de  virtud  modelo, 
De  mis   ensuenos   celestial  querubin, 
Que   entre   medio  de  radiantes  nubes 
Oyez  la  voz  del  hombre   que   te   ama, 
Oyez   la   voz   del   hombre  que  te  llama 
Alma  de  su  alma,  vida  de  su  amor. 
******* 

Modest   maid   of   model  virtue, 
Cherubim  of  all  my  dreams, 
Wand'ring   mid    the  radiant  clouds, 
Hear  the  voice  of  him  who  loves  you, 
Hear  the  voice  of  him  who  calls  you, 
Soul  of  his  soul,  life  of  his  love. 

The  music  changed;  the  grave  Comandante  murmured  to  his  partner  as  she  curtsied,  while, 
held  in  her  outstretched  hands,  her  silken  scarf  floated  mistily  behind  her: 

Los  OJOB  NEOROS. 
"Son  tus  ojos  dos  astros  que  guian 

A  la  grata  mansion  deliciosa ; 

Son  tus   ojos   cual  pudica  rosa 

Que  el  rocio  de  la  aurora  entreabrio; 

Son  dos  astros  que  en   el   alto   cielo 

Brillan    siempre    con  luz  vespertina; 


24  CALIFORNIAN  COLONIZATION 

Son  tus  ojos,  mujer,  tan  di vinos 
Que  el  Eterno  al  formarlos  sonrio." 
******* 

Thine  eyes  are  two  bright  stars  that  guide 

To  pleasing  homes  of  heavenly  bliss; 
Thine  eyes  are  like  the  modest  rose 

Half  oped  by  dewdrop's  morning  kiss; 
They  are  two  stars  that  in  the  lofty  sky 

With  light  of  evening  stars  shine  all  the  while; 
Thine  eyes,  O  maiden,  are  so  near  divine 

They  make  the  Eternal  on  his  dais  smile. 

At  last  the  music  ceased.     A  young  girl  rose  at  one  end  of  the  room  and,  while  the  dancers 
rested,  sang: 

LA    GOLONDRINA    (THE    SWALLOW). 

"Adonde  ira  veloz  y  fatigada 
La  golondrina  que  de  aqui  se  va? 
Si  en  el  viento  remira  angustiada 
Buscando  abrigo,  y  no  lo  encontrara. 
Deje  tambien  mi  patria  idolatrada 
Esa  mansion  que  me  miro  nacer. 
Mi    vida    es    hoy    errante  y  angustiada 
Y  yo  no  puedo  a  mi  mansion  volver." 
******* 

Whither  fliest  thou,  swift  or  weary, 

Swallow,  winging  far  from  here? 
If,  on  high,  thou  meet'st  misfortune, 

Aid  thou  seek'st  will  not  appear. 
Thus  I  leave  my  loved  country, 
Chasing  cloud  dreams,  far  I  roam; 


CALIFORNIAN  COLONIZATION  25 

But,  today,  I  wander  weary, 
I   cannot   regain  my  home. 

"Senorita  Maria  will  dance  El  Son,"  announced  Don  Munras.  As  she  danced,  the  young  men 
piled  their  hats  on  her  head  till  the  odd  headdress  was  taller  than  its  wearer.  When  the  dance 
was  ended,  each  hat  was  redeemed  for  a  piece  of  silver. 

One  lad  lingered  by  her  side  till  the  last  hat  was  gone,  then,  heedless  of  the  opening  bars  of 
La  Varzoviana,  whispered  in  her  ear,  that  was  half  hid  by  a  huge  red  rose,  nestling  in  the  softly 
twisted  hair: 

TE  AMO   (I  LOVE  You). 
"Te  amo,  si,  te  amo  de  veras; 
No  puedo  mas  ocultarlo; 
Para  que  mi  bien  callarlo 
Si    conociendolo  estas. 

"No   mas   silencio  que  oprime, 
No   mas   silencio  que  mata, 
Seras   a  mi  amor  ingrata! 
Dime    que    no  por  piedad, 
No,  no,  por  piedad,  no,  no." 
******* 

I  love  you,  yes,  I  love  you  truly; 
No  longer  can  I  hold  my  tongue, 
That  I  may  well  conceal  my  passion, 
For  you  already  guess  my  love. 

No  longer,  silence  that  oppresses, 
No  longer,  silence  that  destroys, 
Shalt  thou  be  my  love's  betrayer; 
Be  it  not,  in  pity's  name, 
No,  no,  in  pity's  name,  no,  no. 


26  CALIFORNIAN  COLONIZATION 

Before   Senorita   Maria  could  answer,  another  caballero  whirled  her  away  for  La  Varzoviana. 

When  the  fun  was  at  its  highest,  a  gray  light  began  to  steal  into  the  big  room.     It  was  morning. 

A  few  hours  later,  they  started  for  the  picnic  grounds,  the  young  senoritas  and  the  caballeros 
on  horseback,  the  older  ladies  in  carts. 

The  wheels  of  the  cart  were  cut  transversely  from  the  lower  end  of  a  tree,  with  a  hole 
through  the  center  for  a  large  wood  axle.  The  tongue  was  a  long,  heavy  beam.  The  yoke  rested 
on  the  heads  of  the  oxen  and  was  lashed  to  their  horns,  close  down  to  the  root. 

The  deep  body  of  the  cart  was  carefully  swept  and  covered  with  tule  mats,  while  sheets  and 
pieces  of  canvas  were  stretched  over  arched  poles  to  protect  the  riders  from  the  sun. 

The  girls  busied  themselves  with  the  arrangement  of  their  big,  gayly  colored  silk  handker- 
chiefs, which,  like  the  American's  sunbonnet,  kept  freckles  away  from  fair  cheeks.  The  young 
men  improvised  songs  in  honor  of  their  favorite  senorita  or  played  the  Love  Call  on  their 
guitars. 

At  the  picnic  grounds,  Indian  servants  arranged  a  regular  feast.  The  afternoon  was  passed 
in  horse-racing,  card-playing  and  love-making. 

The  party  returned  to  Monterey  just  as  the  Angelus  bell  was  ringing.  The  girls  brought 
back  with  them  wild  flowers  and  green  branches  to  decorate  the  church.  The  next  day  was  a 
holy  day  and  the  Padre  (as  was  the  custom  for  years  afterward)  spent  the  night  at  the  Munras' 
home. 

On  Saturday  came  the  chief  dance  of  the  week,  lasting  until  time  to  prepare  for  mass.  Sun- 
day morning  was  spent  in  church,  the  rest  of  the  day  in  innocent  revelry. 

So  passed  the  days  and  the  weeks  for  Dona  Munras  and  the  others  of  her  social  set.  The 
common  soldiers  and  their  Indian  or  Mexican  wives  meanwhile  spent  their  time  in  coarser  imita- 
tions of  the  pleasures  of  the  lords  and  ladies,  gente  de  razon,  as  they  called  themselves. 

FEARS    OF   FOREIGN   AGGRESSION 

All  along  the  coast,  during  the  first  years  of  the  nineteenth  century,  apprehensions  of  danger 

from  the  Americans  were  constantly  growing.      In    1805,    Captain  Goycocha,    Lieutenant   Governor 

s  of  Baja  California,  wrote  to  the  City  of  Mexico  expressing  the  prevalent  opinion   of  the  officers: 

y     "The  Anglo-Americans  within  the  past  few  years  have  come  not  only  to   frequent  our  waters   in 


CALIFORN1AN  COLONIZATION  27 

search  of  pearls,  etc.,  but  they  come  with  arrogant  boldness  to  anchor  in  our  harbors.  This 
proud  nation,  constantly  increasing  its  strength,  may  one  day  venture  to  measure  it  with  Spain, 
and  acquiring  such  knowledge  of  our  seas  and  coasts  may  make  California  the  object  of  its  attack, 
knowing,  by  the  visits  referred  to,  what  the  Province  contains." 

In  1815,  a  new  Governor,  Sola  by  name,  came  to  live  at  Monterey.  At  the  executive  mansion 
he  was  met  by  a  delegation  of  twenty  young  girls,  chaperoned  by  Dona  Magdalena  Estudillo,  who 
made  the  address  of  welcome.  Each  maiden  kissed  the  Governor's  hand  and  was  rewarded  by 
bon-bons. 

A  banquet  followed.  Flowers  from  the  garden  of  Felipe  Garcia  ornamented  a  table  laden 
with  the  rarest  delicacies  of  the  Province. 

In  the  afternoon,  soldiers  dressed  as  vaqueros  performed  feats  of  horsemanship.  A  bear  and 
bull  fight  followed. 

*"Five  large  gray  bears  had  been  caught  and  fastened  in  a  pen  built  for  the  purpose  of  con- 
fining bulls,  during  a  bullbaiting.  A  bull  held  by  ropes  was  brought  by  men  on  horseback  and 
thrown  down.  A  bear  was  then  drawn  up  to  him  and  they  were  fastened  together  by  a  rope 
fifteen  feet  long.  One  end  was  tied  around  the  front  foot  of  the  bull  and  the  other  around  the 
hind  foot  of  the  bear.  The  two  were  then  left  to  spring  upon  their  feet.  The  bull  started  for  the 
bear — and,  it  took  fourteen  bulls  to  kill  the  five  bears." 

The  ladies  of  Monterey  had  arranged  a  ball  for  the  evening  and  only  the  firing  of  the 
morning  salute  interrupted  the  dancers. 

v  While  endless  festivities  were  making  life  at  the  capital  one  round  of  pleasure,  the  mission 
at  Carmel  was  gaining  in  numbers  of  neophytes  and  size  of  harvests.  In  1796,  Fray  Payeras,  then 
in  his  twenty-seventh  year,  was  detailed  as  a  missionary  at  San  Carlos. 

Bancroft  says  of  him:  "It  was  impossible  to  quarrel  with  him  and  even  Governor  Sola's  peev- 
ish and  annoying  complaints  never  ruffled  his  temper.  Yet  he  had  an  extraordinary  business  abil- 
ity and  was  a  clear  and  forcible  as  well  as  voluminous  writer  and,  withal,  a  man  of  great  strength 
of  mind  and  firmness  of  character." 

Such  qualities  as  these  caused  the  mission  authorities  to  appoint  him  President  upon  the 
death  of  Padre  Lasuen  in  1803. 

'Quoted  from  Pattie  "Personal  Narrative,"  p.  304. 


28  CALIFORNIAN  COLONIZATION 

Mission  affairs  prospered  under  his  rule.  In  1820,  the  statistics  were:  Population,  S81;  large 
stock,  3,438;  sheep,  4,032;  horses  and  mules,  438. 

In  1814,  Mr.  James  Gilroy,  a  Scotchman  and  founder  of  the  town  of  Gilroy,  came  to  Monte- 
rey and  for  five  years  complained  of  the  deadly  monotony  of  life  there.  Not  even  a  boat  came 
into  the  harbor.  Besides,  only  the  socially  elect,  to  which  class  foreigners  did  not  belong,  dared 
go  to  the  teas  and  picnics. 

In  1819,  a  pirate  vessel  from  Buenos  Ayres,  flying  its  deadly  flag,  sailed  into  the  harbor  and 
began  shelling  the  fort.  A  few  well-aimed  missies  sufficed  to  make  the  little  garrison  surrender. 
The  pirates  harmed  no  one.  They  were  content  to  take  all  firearms,  silver,  jewels  and  money 
they  could  find  in  the  town  and  depart  quietly.  Senora  Munras  had  new  spoons,  to  replace  those 
stolen  by  the  pirates,  made  out  of  the  spangles  that  she  ripped  off  two  court  dresses  from  Spain. 

INCIPIENT    INSURRECTIONS 

Monterey  finally  became  tired  of  being  neglected  by  His  Most  Catholic  Majesty.  Her  expe- 
rience with  the  pirates  had  proved  the  inefficiency  of  his  protection.  In  1820,  the  Montereyans 
took  things  into  their  own  hands.  An  Ayuntamiento  (Town  Council)  was  elected  and  Teodose 
Flores  made  first  Alcalde  (Mayor)  of  Monterey. 

This  Ayuntamiento  continued  to  hold  occasional  meetings  until  1827.  By  that  time  it  was 
thoroughly  organized  and  holding  regular  annual  meetings.  In  the  actual  revolt  of  New  Spain  in 
1822,  Monterey  played  very  little  part. 

Pirates  and  revolutions  had  almost  no  effect  on  the  every-day  life  of  the  capital.  When  Gov- 
ernor Sola  came  to  Monterey  in  1815,  he  found  a  school  in  operation  and  took  pride  in  continu- 
ing and  improving  it.  "The  Monterey  school,"  say  people  of  that  time,  "in  comparison  with  even 
the  most  primitive  establishments  of  the  Atlantic  States  at  the  same  epoch,  was  a  very  crude 
affair. 

"Rude  benches  extended  along  the  sides  of  a  long,  low,  adobe  room  with  dirty,  unpainted  walls. 
On  a  raised  platform  at  one  end  sat  the  soldier  teacher,  of  fierce  and  warlike  mien,  clad  in  fan- 
tastic, greasy  garments,  with  ferule  in  hand.  On  the  wall  over  his  head  was  a  great  green  cross 
and  the  picture  of  a  saint,  to  which  each  boy  came  on  entering  the  room  to  say  a  bendito  aloud. 
Then  he  approached  the  platform  to  salute  the  master  by  kissing  his  hand  and  receive  a  bellowed 
permission  to  take  his  seat,  which  he  did  after  throwing  his  hat  on  a  pile  in  the  corner." 


From  the  Charles  B.  Turrill  Historical  Collection 


-.^    o  CALIFORNIAN  COLONIZATION  29 

The  home  of  the  humbler  Spaniard  was  no  more  pretentious  than  the  school.  One  thing,  how- 
ever, even  the  poorest  could  boast  was  a  beautiful  bed.  Lace-trimmed  counterpanes,  pillows  and 
curtains  often  hid  a  bed  made  by  stretching  a  bull's  hide  over  a  wooden  frame.  Aside  from  her 
bed,  the  housewife  gave  little  thought  to  furniture.  A  few  rawhide-bottomed  chairs,  or  wooden 
benches,  a  rude  table  and  some  cheap  copies  of  religious  pictures  were  sufficient  for  her  needs. 

She  always  managed,  also,  to  have  a  little  corner  and  simple  altar  where  the  family  might 
worship  the  patron  saint  of  the  household. 

The  haciendas  of  the  Gente  de  Razon  presented  a  vivid  contrast.  Large,  cool,  airy  chambers, 
furniture  very  often  imported  from  Mexico  or  Spain,  plenty  of  silverware  and  dainty  dishes  and 
Indian  servants  (from  the  mission)  to  do  the  work  while  Dona  So  and  So  swung  the  hammock  of 
her  first-born  (they  never  used  cradles)  in  time  to  her  lullaby: 

"Duermete,  nino  chiquito; 
Duermete,    que  yo  te  arrollo; 
Duermete,  nino  chiquito, 
Al  echo  de  ro,  ro,  ro. 

"Duermete,  nino  chiquito, 
Ya   la   luna   se  metio; 
Duermete,    querido  infante, 
Al  echo  de  ro,  ro,  ro. 

"Callate,   chiquito ; 
Callate,    bonito, 
Que    ahf   viene  el  coyote, 

Y  a  comerte  viene." 
#*****» 

Softly    slumber,    little  baby, 

Slumber   softly   as  thy  swing  goes; 
Gently  slumber,  little  baby, 

By  the  lull  of  ro,  ro,  ro. 


30  CALIFORNIAN  COLONIZATION 

Sweetly   slumber,  little  baby, 

For  the  moon's  asleep,  I  know. 
Close  thy  eyelids,  darling  baby, 

By  the  lull  of  ro,  ro,  ro. 

Hush  thy  sobs,  dear  baby; 
Dry   thy  tears,   good  baby; 
Gray  wolf  comes  who   heard   thee   cry; 
Mother '11  hide  thee,  hush-a-bye. 

A  crude   echo  of  that   soft   lullaby,   in   through   the   open   door   came  the   drone   of   an    Indian 
mother's  "Bye  Baby  Bunting"  song: 

"Hate  mes,  mes  huate, 

Olola,  olola,  olola, 

Aya,  hui  hila, 

Aya  hui  hile. 

Hilo  me  nanate 

Halma  nana  halmai 

Chicale,  me  polote 

Halmana,    hal    mana." 

******* 

Hush,   my   baby;  sleep  my  baby; 
Hush-a-bye,  hush-a-bye,  hush-a-bye. 
Hark,  the  woods  are  sleeping; 
Hark,  the  wild  things  slumber; 
Father's  gone  to  kill  the  rabbit 
And  the  deer  so  swiftly  leaping, 
All  to  give  to  his  dear  baby ; 
Close  your  eyes,  close  your  eyes. 


MEXICAN  MONTEREY  31 

V 

The  establishment  of  the  Mexican  Empire  was  announced  in  Monterey  in  March,  1822,  and 
March  26  Governor  Sola  communicated  the  news  to  the  commandants  and  to  President  Payeras, 
representing  the  missions,  whom  he  summoned  to  a  junta  (meeting)  at  Monterey.  The  junta  met 
the  9th  of  April.  April  11  the  Oath  of  Allegiance  to  Mexico  was  taken. 

Iturbide  was  crowned  Emperor  Augustin  I  of  Mexico,  July  21,  1822.  The  official  announce- 
ment of  that  event  did  not  reach  Monterey  till  the  end  of  March,  1823.  On  April  12,  the  Oath 
of  Allegiance  to  the  Emperor  was  taken  at  Monterey  and,  as  soon  thereafter  as  the  news  could 
be  carried,  in  all  parts  of  the  Province. 

FIRST   FOOTHOLDS   OF   THE   AMERICANS 

In  1822,  Captain  Goycocha's  prophecy  of  seventeen  years  before  began  to  be  fulfilled.  Amer- 
icans gained  their  first  foothold  in  Monterey.  Hugh  McCulloch  and  William  Hartnell  established 
the  first  commercial  house  in  California  as  a  branch  of  a  Lima  firm,  in  June,  1822.  The  people 
were  glad  to  have  it,  for  through  it  they  were  able  to  obtain  imported  goods  much  more  quickly 
and  inexpensively  than  heretofore.  A  revolution  was  then  in  progress.  Hence  official  sanction 
of  almost  any  plan  was  easy  to  obtain. 

Another  circumstance  which  doubtless  made  the  Californians  rather  kindly  disposed  toward  for- 
eigners was  the  relief  given  by  the  surgeon  of  the  Russian  boat  Kutusof,  during  the  smallpox 
epidemic  of  1821.  He  had  vaccine  matter  and,  while  the  boat  was  in  Monterey  Bay,  August,  1821, 
vaccinated  fifty-four  persons.  This  was  the  first  vaccination  in  California. 

Besides  being  men  of  keen  business  acumen,  Hartnell  and  McCulloch  were  very  honest  and 
won  the  respect  and  friendship  of  the  Californians.  Thus  simple  were  the  beginnings  of  the 
Americanization  of  California. 

REPUBLIC    OF   MEXICO 

In   1824,  the  Provinces  revolted  from  the  Iturbide  empire  and  established  a  republic. 

March  26,   1825,  the  Constitution  of  the  Mexican  Republic  was  ratified  at  Monterey. 

For  the  first  time  in  her  history,  there  was  no  religious  ceremony.  The  Padres  declined  to 
subscribe  to  a  democracy.  They  feared  the  effect  of  the  new  government  on  their  missions. 

The  Cortez  of  Spain  had  decreed,  in  1813,  that  all  missions,  ten  years  after  their   establish- 


32  MEXICAN  MONTEREY 

ment  should  be  converted  into  pueblos,  subject  to  secular  authority  in  all  matters,  both  civil  and 
religious.     All  the  missions  were  more  than  ten  years  old. 

DESPOLIATION    OF   MISSIONS 

Seeing  an  opportunity  to  seize  the  rich  mission  lands  and  obtain  control  of  the  Pious  Fund, 
*the  least  scrupulous  Mexican  politicians  determined  on  the  immediate  enforcement  of  the  seculari- 
zation decree  of  1813. 

As  if  to  emphasize  their  determination,  they  granted  whole  leagues  of  the  confiscated  lands 
to  their  political  foes,  in  order  to  remove  them  from  Mexico  and  active  participation  in  politics. 

In  the  half  century  since  the  founding  of  the  first  missions,  the  Padres  had  labored,  often  with 
superhuman  zeal,  to  train  their  neophytes  in  the  dogma  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church.  To  the 
material  welfare  of  the  Indians,  as  contemporary  evidence  shows,  they  had  given  less  thought.* 

Moreover,  the  unnumbered  acres  of  mission  land  were  held  by  the  Padres  only  as  guardians  for 
the  Indians.  When  their  wards  became  citizens,  the  Padres  could  no  longer  retain  possession  of 
the  land.  Their  vows  as  Franciscan  missionaries  made  it  impossible  for  them  to  have  a  regular 
church  and  diocese,  and  the  successors  of  Padre  Serra  were  filled  with  less  zeal  than  was  he  for 
finding  new  worlds  to  conquer. 

In  1825,  the  Mexican  Republic  formally  recognized  California  as  a  Territory,  entitled  to  a 
representative  in  the  Mexican  Congress,  without  a  vote. 

Senor  Echeandia  was  appointed  first  Governor  of  the  Territory. 

Money  was  needed  to  carry  on  the  government  and  effectually  subdue  his  enemies.  To  raise 
any  large  sum  by  taxation  was  impossible,  since  to  do  so  would  only  furnish  the  citizens  a  just 
cause  for  complaining  against  him. 

The  Pious  Fund,  with  its  certain  revenue,  lay  within  his  grasp  if  only  the  secularization  of 
the  missions  could  be  quickly  completed.  He  tried  to  hasten  their  destruction,  failed,  and,  in  1829, 
lost  his  governorship. 

AMERICANS   IN   POLITICS 

The   foreign   residents    (mostly   Americans)    of    Monterey    banded    together    and    temporarily 

•The  Pious  Fund,  set  aside  by  the  Catholic  Church  for  the  maintenance  of  the  Missions,   was  a  sure   source   of 
money  to  run  the  government. 

*See,  for  example  the  passages  quoted  from  La  Perousse;  Vancouver's  Voyage,  etc. 


MEXICAN  MONTEREY  33 

restored  Echeandia.  I.  O.  Pattie,  a  Kentuckian  who  had  come  to  California  only  a  few  years 
before,  tells  how  they  did  it: 

"Captain  Cooper,  who  had  been  chosen  as  leader  of  the  foreigners,  rolled  out  a  barrel  of  good 
old  rum,  inviting  all  the  friends  of  General  Solis  (Echeandia's  rival)  to  come  and  drink  his  health. 
They  drank.  We,  like  good  Christians,  with  the  help  of  some  of  the  inhabitants,  conveyed  them 
into  nearby  houses  while  they  remained  in  their  helpless  condition,  locking  the  doors  that  no  harm 
might  come  to  them." 

When  General  Solis,  who  was  then  in  the  south,  fighting  Echeandia,  returned,  he  was  greeted 
by  a  salute  of  cannon  balls  and  forced  to  surrender. 

In  the  next  fifteen  years,  there  were  eight  Governors  of  California.  In  only  one  case  was  the 
term  of  office  terminated  by  anything  but  revolution. 

The  one  exception  was  Governor  Figueroa,  known  as  the  "best  Mexican  Governor  California 
ever  had."  He  entered  upon  his  duties  in  January,  1833,  and  immediately  began  a  series  of  re- 
forms. A  year  before,  William  Hartnell,  now  a  naturalized  Mexican  citizen,  had  started  a  school. 
To  that  especially  the  Governor  directed  his  efforts.  Sefior  Figueroa  died  September  29,  183.-5. 

Each  of  the  other  seven  Governors  obtained  their  office  through  power  of  money  and  held  it 
by  the  same  means. 

The  struggle  to  wrench  the  Pious  Fund  away  from  the  Padres  grew  yearly  more  6erce.  In 
1834,  Senor  Hijar,  the  Director  of  Colonization,  came  for  the  purpose  of  completing  the  seculari- 
zation of  the  missions.* 

Some  of  the  Padres  tried  to  hold  their  neophytes  together,  but,  with  most  of  their  land  and 
all  of  their  authority  gone,  the  attempt  was  futile.  Like  children  suddenly  released  from  all 
restraint,  the  Indians  indulged  every  whim  from  mere  indolence  to  actual  crime  and  soon  became 
public  charges. 

The  Pious  Fund  might  have  saved  them,  but  it  was  needed  to  save  the  Governors,  and  the 
Governors  now  had  control. 

By  1840,  there  were  only  a  few  dozen  neophytes  at  San  Carlos  where,  in  1829,  Pattie  had 
*Senor  Hljar  came  in  the  brig  Natalia,  the  boat  on  which  Napoleon  escaped  from  St.  Helena,  It  was  wrecked 
while  leaving  Monterey,  and  later  washed  ashore.  Pieces  of  it  are  still  kept  as  relics. 


34  MEXICAN  MONTEREY 

vaccinated  800.  The  mission  buildings  were  no  longer  used.  Padre  Jose  Real,  then  in  charge,  lived 
at  Monterey  and  held  occasional  services  at  the  mission  till  1845. 

In  Governor  Pio  Pico's  decree  of  that  year,  San  Carlos  is  spoken  of  as  a  pueblo  (abandoned 
mission)  and  its  property  ordered  to  be  sold  at  auction  for  the  payment  of  debts  and  maintenance 
of  worship.  Mission  San  Carlos  Borromeo  del  Carmelo  de  Monterey  was  only  "the  mummy  of  a 
buried  faith." 

The  destruction  of  the  mission  was  at  last  complete. 

How  urgently  the  Mexican  Governors  needed  money  was  shown  when  Alvarado,  a  mere  cus- 
toms house  clerk,  overthrew  Nicolas  Gutierrez  in  1836. 

One  dajf,  General  Gutierrez  placed  a  guard  on  board  a  vessel  that  had  just  come  to  anchor 
with  the  avowed  purpose  of  putting  an  end  to  the  customs  officers'  practice  of  accepting  and  keep- 
ing bribes. 

Thoroughly  angry,  they  sent  their  clerk,  Alvarado,  to  coax  the  Governor  to  remove  the 
guard.  The  young  clerk  was  fine  looking,  with  dark  hair  and  eyes  and  a  clear  complexion  that 
associated  itself  with  boyish  frankness. 

Gutierrez  refused  all  requests  and,  as  Alvarado's  pleadings  grew  too  eloquent,  ordered  him 
put  in  irons.  Before  the  order  could  be  executed,  Alvarado  had  bribed  his  way  past  the  guards 
and  was  on  the  road  to  San  Juan  Bautista. 

Seeking  shelter  for  the  night,  he  came  upon  the  log  house  of  Isaac  Graham,  a  sturdy  Ten- 
nessee backwoodsman.  To  him  Alvarado  hold  his  story.  In  order  to  enlist  Graham's  aid,  he  prom- 
ised, if  he  were  successful  in  deposing  Gutierrez,  to  grant  Californian  independence  and  new  laws 
permitting  foreigners  to  acquire  land  without  becoming  Mexican  citizens. 

At  Graham's  call,  fifty  foreigners  assembled,  elected  liim  captain,  and  joined  the  twenty-five 
Californians  Alvarado  had  hastily  collected.  Under  Alvarado's  command,  they  marched  against 
Monterey. 

Forty-eight  hours  were  spent  in  exchanging  grandiloquent  challenges  and  proclamations.  Then 
Graham  announced  that  "two  days  and  nights  a-waitin'  on  them  baars  was  enough." 

Under  a  flag  of  truce,  he  sent  a  blunt  demand  to  Gutierrez  to  surrender  within  two  hours. 
The  Governor  paid  no  attention. 


MEXICAN  MONTEREY  35 

At  the  end  of  two  hours,  Graham  sent  a  ball  from  a  four-pound  brass  piece  through  the  tile 
roof  of  the  executive  mansion,  just  as  the  Governor  sat  down  to  dine.  Gutierrez  immediately  sur- 
rendered.* 

Thus  Alvarado  became  Governor.  But  the  promised  laws  failed  to  appear.  The  Mexicans 
were  afraid  of  their  American  allies. 

These  bloodless  revolutions  interfered  but  little  with  the  daily  round  of  pleasures  of  the  gen- 
eral populace,  which  culminated,  each  week,  with  Saturday's  all  day  and  all  night  dance.  Their 
nights  were  filled  with  dancing  and  gambling  and  their  days  with  picnics  and  hunting  trips. 

A  favorite  sport  was  hunting  gray  bears,  which  roamed  the  hills  back  of  Monterey  in  great 
numbers.  A  horse  was  killed  at  a  place  where  the  bears  usually  gathered.  Not  far  from  the  horse, 
a  sort  of  scaffold,  made  of  branches,  was  erected  and  upon  this  the  hunters  hid  themselves.  When 
the  bears  came  for  their  tempting  meal,  lances,  knives  and  bullets  showered  down  upon  them  from 
the  scaffold  and  the  hunt  was  over. 

Foreign  scientists  and  explorers  had  been  visiting  California  in  steadily  increasing  numbers  ever 
since  the  founding  of  Monterey  in  1770.  Not  one  of  them  failed  to  be  impressed  by  the  old  capital. 

The  first  scientist  to  make  a  very  great  impression  on  Monterey  was  Captain  John  C.  Fre- 
mont, a  United  States  topographical  engineer.  On  Sunday,  July  19?  1840,  he  rode  into  Monterey 
with  his  company  of  180  men.  They  were  mountaineers  and  frontiersmen,  clad  in  buckskins  and 
moccasins,  sunburned  and  almost  as  formidable  in  appearance  as  a  band  of  Apache  Indians. 

These  Gringos  (literally,  ignoramus — men  without  manners  of  any  sort),  as  the  Californians 
called  them,  entertained  the  Montereyans  with  a  new  sport.  Each  man  shot  at  Mexican  dollars 
furnished  by  the  young  officers  of  the  British  ship  Collingwood  then  in  port.  Each  man  kept  the 
dollars  he  hit.  The  sport,  though  very  exciting,  only  lasted  a  little  while,  for  none  of  the  British 
officers  were  millionaires. 

Fremont  himself  devoted  a  few  lines  in  his  Memoirs  to  his  first  view  of  the  capital: 

"Before  us  to  the  right  was  the  town  of  Monterey,  with  its  red-tiled  roofs  and  large  gardens 
enclosed  by  high  adobe  walls  capped  with  red  tiles.  To  the  left,  the  view  was  over  the  ships  in  the 
Bay  and  on  over  the  ocean,  where  the  July  sun  made  the  sea-breeze  and  the  shade  of  the  pine  trees 

grateful." 

•Cal.  Reports  V.  1,  p.  580  ff. 


36  MEXICAN  MONTEREY 

Even  more  spectacular  than  Fremont's  entrance  was  the  next  appearance  of  a  band  of  Ameri- 
cans in  Monterey  some  two  years  later.  At  that  time,  relations  between  Mexico  and  the  United 
States  were  daily  becoming  more  strained.  The  Texas  question  threatened  to  involve  the  two 
countries  in  actual  war. 

California  was  still  a  Province  of  Mexico  in  form  if  not  in  spirit  and,  as  such,  would  be  a 
legitimate  object  of  attack  in  case  of  war.  Realizing  the  danger  of  permitting  a  European  nation 
to  obtain  a  foothold  on  her  Western  coast,  the  government  gave  orders  to  all  officers  in  the  Pacific 
to  seize  and  hold  the  ports  of  California  as  soon  as  war  was  declared. 

In  1842,  Commodore  Thomas  A.  P.  Catesby  Jones,  then  at  Callao,  heard  that  hostilities  had 
actually  commenced. 

He  immediately  set  sail  for  Monterey,  arriving  there  October  20.  At  11  a.  m.  he  sent  ashore 
about  150  men  to  take  possession  of  the  castillo  (fort)  and  raise  the  American  flag.  They  met 
no  resistance.  At  noon,  the  Mexican  flag  was  lowered  and  the  Stars  and  Stripes  raised,  while  the 
guns  of  fort  and  warship  joined  in  a  salute. 

The  territory  surrendered  extended  from  San  Juan  Bautista  to  San  Luis  Obispo. 

Before  night,  the  Commodore  learned  of  his  mistake  as  to  the  commencing  of  active  warfare  and 
with  many  apologies,  took  down  the  flag  and  withdrew. 

Sailing  south,  Jones  stopped  at  Los  Angeles  to  repeat  his  apologies  to  Governor  Micletorena, 
then  on  his  way  to  Monterey. 

Neither  the  Governor  nor  the  people  of  California  seem  to  have  cherished  any  hard  feelings 
against  the  impulsive  commodore  or  the  United  States  because  of  this  mistake.  The  Californians 
had  suffered  too  long  from  Mexico's  neglect  to  resent  an  insult  to  the  Mexican  flag. 

THE   LAST   MEXICAN   GOVERNOR 

Micheltorena  was  the  last  Governor  sent  to  California  by  Mexico.  His  character,  as  described 
by  Bancroft,  was  typical  of  that  of  most  of  the  Mexican  Governors: 

"He  was  a  strange  mixture  of  good  and  bad;  a  most  fascinating  and  popular  gentleman;  hon- 
est, skilful  and  efficient  as  an  official  in  minor  matters;  utterly  weak,  unreliable  and  even  dishonor- 
able in  all  emergencies.  In  person,  he  was  tall,  slight  and  straight,  with  agreeable  features,  clean- 
shaven face,  light  complexion  and  brown  hair." 


MEXICAN  MONTEREY  37 

His  rule,  lasting  a  little  over  two  years,  was  one  long  story  of  Indian  revolts,  soldiers'  mutinies 

politicians'  plots. 

t,  .  February  1,  1845,  he  was  driven  out  by  Vallejo,  Alvarado  and  Castro  and  Don  Pio  Pico 
elected  Governor.  "Don  Pio  Pico,"  writes  an  American  officer  in  California  at  that  time,  "is  about 
five  feet  seven  inches  high,  corpulent,  very  dark,  with  strongly  marked  African  features.  He  is,  no 
doubt,  an  amiable,  kind-hearted  man  who  has  ever  been  the  tool  of  knaves.  He  does  not  appear  to 
be  more  intelligent  than  the  rancheros  generally  are.  He  can  sign  his  name,  but  cannot,  I  am 
informed,  write  a  connected  letter." 

CONCILIATING   CALIFORNIA 

During  the  later  thirties,  the  American  administration  began  to  study  the  California  situation. 
In  1832,  a  diplomatic  American  merchant,  Thomas  O.  Larkin,  had  engaged  in  business  in  Monterey. 
In  1842,  the  United  States  sent  him  a  commission  as  Consul  to  protect  American  shipping  interests 
and  colonists.  In  a  secret  letter,  they  also  appointed  him  confidential  agent. 

His  duties  were  to  report  all  significant  changes  in  the  local  political  situation  and  to  make 
the  Californians  friendly  to  the  United  States.  Consul  Larkin  succeeded  almost  perfectly  in  doing 
both. 

His  home  was  the  scene  of  the  most  brilliant  and  select  balls,  where  more  than  one  fair 
sefiorita  wore  out  two  pairs  of  slippers  in  a  single  night. 

l^-  EUROPEAN   COLONIZERS 

Europe  was  also  looking  over  the  situation. 

In  1845,  Duflot  de  Mofras,  a  French  officer,  came  from  Louis  Philippe  to  California  to  look 
over  the  country  with  reference  to  colonizing  a  part  of  it  for  France.  He  made  extensive  investi- 
gations at  Monterey  and  reported  favorably  to  his  government. 

Since  this  French  plan  of  colonization  was  abandoned  on  account  of  the  change  in  governments 
in  1846,  its  only  real  importance  was  to  help  keep  California  before  the  eyes  of  the  world. 

Ireland's  interests  were  represented  by  Eugene  MacNamara,  an  Irish  Catholic  priest,  who 
planned  an  Irish  colony  for  California. 

Early  in  the  year  1845,  he  petitioned  the  government  of  Mexico  for  land.  He  stated  that  the 
enterprise  had  in  view  three  things:  "First,  the  advance  of  Catholicism;  second,  to  promote  the 


38  MEXICAN  MONTEREY 

interests  of  his  countrymen;  third,  to  place  an  impediment  in  the  way    of  the  spread    of    an    anti- 
Catholic  nation." 

He  promised  two  thousand  families  at  first  and  more  to  follow. 

Growing  tired  of  the  delays  incident  to  all  such  undertakings,  he  wrote  a  letter  to  the  Presi- 
dent, urging  haste. 

"If  the  means  I  propose  to  you  are  not  promptly  adopted/'  he  wrote,  "Your  Excellency  may 
rest  assured  that  before  the  end  of  another  year  the  Californias  will  form  a  part  of  the  American 
Union." 

On  June  29,  1846,  he  arrived  in  Santa  Barbara  armed  with  the  proper  authority  from  Mex- 
ico. Governor  Pico  approved  the  plan  and  referred  it  to  the  Departmental  Assembly.  Upon  the 
seventh  day  of  July,  that  body  gave  its  approval  and  turned  the  papers  over  to  Pico  for  his  signa- 
ture. 

Too  late;  Father  MacNamara's  prophecy  of  1845  had  already  been  fulfilled.   £*> 

BEAR   FLAG 

In  1845,  five  years  after  his  first  expedition  to  California,  Captain  Fremont  again  crossed  the 
Sierras.  This  time  he  came  to  make  some  topographical  surveys  of  possible  routes  across  the 
Rockies  to  California.  He  brought  with  him  about  sixty  assistants,  all  quite  as  skilful  with  the 
rifle  as  with  the  surveyor's  rod. 

The  young  Captain  obtained  permission  from  General  Jose  Castro,  acting  Comandante  of  Upper 
California,  to  winter  in  the  San  Joaquin  Valley. 

Castro,  as  seen  by  one  of  the  American  officers,  was  "a  villain  with  a  lean  body,  dark  face, 
black  mustachios,  pointed  nose,  flabby  cheeks,  uneasy  eyes,  and  hands  and  heart  so  foul  as  to 
require  a  Spanish  cloak,  in  all  kinds  of  weather,  to  cover  them." 

The  surveying  party  moved  about  so  freely  as  to  awaken  Castro's  fears  of  possible  motives 
other  than  that  of  survey.  In  March,  1846,  he  ordered  them  to  leave  California  at  once. 

Fremont  retreated  to  the  Gavilan  Peak,  back  of  San  Juan  Bautista,  raised  the  American  flag 
and  waited  for  the  enemy.  Castro  did  not  attack.  Following  the  advice  given  in  a  letter  of  Consul 
Larkin's,  Fremont  did  not  longer  defy  the  Mexicans,  but  set  out  with  all  his  men  for  the  Oregon 
country. 


MEXICAN  MONTEREY  39 

During  this  time,  fear  of  the  United  States  was  daily  growing  among  the  Mexican  politicians. 
March  27,  1845,  a  meeting  was  held  at  Monterey  to  discuss  the  advisability  of  calling  upon  Eng- 
land for  protection. 

Castro  and  Alvarado  differed  with  Vallejo  as  to  the  proper  course  to  be  pursued. 

Don  Raphael,  one  of  the  leading  Montereyans  of  that  time,  put  an  end  to  the  discussion  in 
his  usual  witty  way.  "Our  object  is  to  preserve  our  country,  but  she  is  gone.  California  is  lost  to 
us  and  this  proposal  to  invoke  the  protection  of  England  is  only  to  seek  another  owner.  The  redress 
is  worthy  of  the  market  woman.  A  dog  had  robbed  her  hamper  of  a  leg  of  mutton.  She  sent 
another  more  powerful  dog  against  him  to  get  it  away. 

"When  asked  what  good  that  would  do  her,  she  replied  that  it  would  be  some  satisfaction  to 
see  the  first  dog  deprived  of  the  stolen  leg.  And  so  it  is  with  us ;  the  mutton  is  gone  and  the 
choice  of  dogs  only  remains.  Others  may  prefer  the  bulldog;  but  I  prefer  the  regular  hound.  He 
has  outstripped  the  other  in  the  chase  and  so  let  him  have  the  game."  The  convention  broke  up 
without  deciding  on  any  definite  course  of  action. 

April  17,  1846,  the  U.  S.  sloop  Cyane,  from  Mazatlan,  cast  anchor  in  Monterey  Bay.  She 
brought  Commodore  Sloat  and  Lieutenant  Gillespie.  The  latter  had  secret  dispatches  for 
Fremont.* 

Finding  the  Captain  had  started  for  Oregon,  he  followed.  After  an  exciting  chase,  May  9, 
1846,  Gillespie  overtook  Fremont  on  the  shore  of  Klamath  Lake  and  the  whole  party  started  south. 

All  this  time,  rumors  of  war  with  Mexico  kept  coming  with  increasing  frequency.  In  June, 
a  party  of  foreigners,  chiefly  Americans,  banded  together  at  Sonoma,  Sutter's  Fort  and  vicinity, 
under  the  leadership  of  William  B.  Ide. 

Their  object,  as  stated  by  Mr.  Ide  in  a  proclamation  issued  at  Sonoma,  June  18,  1846,  a  few 
days  after  they  had  captured  the  town,  was: 

"To  overthrow  a  government  which  has  seized  upon  the  missions  for  its  individual  aggran- 
dizement; which  has  ruined  and  shamefully  oppressed  the  laboring  people  of  California  by  its 
enormous  exactions  on  goods  imported  into  the  country,  is  the  determined  purpose  of  the  brave  men 
who  have  associated  together  under  my  command." 

The  United  States  government  had  been  anxious  to  induce  California,  already  in  a  state  of 
•Fremont's  "Letters."  Congress  document!. 


40  CONQUEST  OF  CALIFORNIA 

semi-revolt  from  Mexico,  to  come  into  the  Union  of  her  own  free  will.  To  accomplish  this,  it 
was  necessary  that  nothing  whatever  be  done  to  antagonize  the  Calif ornians. 

At  Monterey,  Consul  Larkin,  besides  looking  after  the  needs  of  American  seamen  and  colo- 
nists, had  become  a  close  friend  of  the  most  influential  Californians. 

In  the  midst  of  his  peaceful  winning  of  the  hearts  of  the  people,  came  the  Bear  Flag  revolt 
at  Sonoma.  Captain  Fremont  had  played  a  part  in  it;  Sutter,  founder  of  New  Helvetia  (now 
Sacramento)  and  supposed  friend  of  the  Mexicans,  had  aided  it  with  supplies. 

Even  Consul  Larkin's  consummate  skill  in  diplomacy  would  not  have  made  possible  a  continu- 
ance of  friendly  relations  with  the  Americans  and  disaster  would  inevitably  have  resulted  had  not 
news  of  actual  war  with  Mexico  made  all  other  outbreaks  of  no  importance. 

CONQUEST  OF  CALIFORNIA 

In  July,  Commodore  Sloat,  then  commander  of  the  squadron  of  the  Pacific,  returned  to  Monte- 
rey. Memory  of  Commodore  Jones'  inglorious  mistake  in  prematurely  hoisting  the  American  flag 
in  1842,  made  him  hesitate  to  risk  a  repetition  of  that  folly,  in  spite  of  the  news  brought  him  by 
Gillespie. 

Moreover,  though  the  Government  had  ordered  Sloat  to  seize  Monterey  and  San  Francisco  as 
soon  as  war  with  Mexico  started,  no  provision  had  been  made,  as  far  as  he  knew,  for  securing 
the  co-operation  of  Captain  Fremont.  With  two  American  forces  in  the  field,  obeying  no  common 
head,  Sloat  foresaw  serious  trouble. 

Nevertheless,  July  6,  1846,  he  decided  to  seize  Monterey.  He  immediately  sent  letters  to 
Captain  Fremont,  both  through  Consul  Larkin  and  J.  D.  Montgomery,  commander  of  the  U.  S.  S. 
Portsmouth  at  Yerba  Buena  (San  Francisco),  hoping  thus  to  secure  Fremont's  assistance. 

Very  early  on  the  morning  of  the  seventh,  he  called  his  men  together  and  issued  a  general 
order,  reading,  in  part: 

"We  are  now  about  to  land  on  the  territory  of  Mexico,  with  whom  the  United  States  is  at 
war.  It  is  not  only  our  duty  to  take  California,  but  to  preserve  it  afterwards  as  a  part  of  the 
United  States.  I  scarcely  consider  it  necessary  for  me  to  caution  American  seamen  against  the 
detestable  crime  of  plundering  and  maltreating  unoffending  inhabitants.  That  no  one  may  mis- 


CUSTOM  HOUSE 


CONQUEST  OF  CALIFORNIA  41 

understand  his  duty,  the  following  regulations  must  be  strictly  observed,  as  no  violation  can  hope 
to  escape  the  severest  punishment. 

"2.      No  gun  is  to  be  fired  or  other  act  of  hostility  committed  without  express  orders  from  the 

officer  commanding  the  party. 

******* 

"4.  No  man  is  to  quit  the  ranks  or  enter  any  house  for  any  purpose  whatever  without  express 
orders  from  an  officer.  Let  every  man  avoid  insult  or  offense  to  any  unoffending  inhabitant  and 
especially  avoid  that  eternal  disgrace  which  would  be  attached  to  our  names  and  our  country's 
name  by  indignity  offered  to  a  single  female,  even  be  her  standing  however  low  it  may. 

"5.  Plundering  of  every  kind  is  strictly  prohibited.  Not  only  does  the  plundering  of  the 
smallest  article  from  a  prize  forfeit  all  claim  to  prize  money,  but  the  offender  must  expect  to  be 
severely  punished. 

"6.  Finally,  let  me  entreat  you,  one  and  all,  not  to  tarnish  our  hope  of  bright  success  by 
any  act  we  shall  be  ashamed  to  acknowledge  before  God  and  our  country." 

Captain  Mervine  of  the  Cyane  came  ashore  at  seven  o'clock  to  demand  the  immediate  surren- 
der of  Monterey.  He  encountered  no  opposition,  although  most  of  the  men  of  the  town  were 
gathered  around  the  custom  house  watching  the  armed  marines  take  their  places  in  small  boats  and 
row  to  shore. 

Captain  Swasey,  an  eye  witness,  gives  an  amusing  account  of  what  followed:  "On  landing, 
the  marines  immediately  surrounded  the  custom  house  and  flagstaff,  which  had  just  been  given  a 
coat  of  white  paint.  As  they  hoisted  the  flag,  the  halyards  broke.  Lieutenant  Higgins,  who  wore 
a  beautiful  new  broadcloth  uniform,  enthusiastically  sprang  up  the  staff  to  fix  new  ones.  The 
flag  was  raised  amid  martial  music  and  the  town  occupied  without  firing  a  shot." 

That  night,  Spaniards,  Mexicans  and  Gringos  were  seated  side  by  side  as  friends  and  equals 
at  a  huge  banquet  in  Consul  Larkin's  house.  Many  and  amusing  were  the  mistakes  of  the  Amer- 
ican officers  who  vainly  tried  to  make  use  of  their  very  small  stock  of  Spanish  words. 

One   American,   still   prominent   in   Monterey  business  circles,  asked  for  some  "jamon"  (ham), 


42  CONQUEST  OF  CALIFORNIA 

but  mispronounced  it  "jabon"    (soap)   and   failed  to  join  in  the   general   laugh  when  the   Indian 
girl  brought  him  a  cake  of  soap. 

If  Spanish  words  were  hard,  Spanish  dances  proved  even  harder,  especially  since  their  fair 
partners  had  to  explain  the  steps  by  means  of  signs.  The  awkward  Americans  afforded  endless 
amusement  to  the  senoritas,  even  while  their  gay  uniforms  won  them  a  place  in  the  graceful 
maidens'  hearts. 

David  Spence,  a  local  Spanish  citizen  and  afterwards  a  prominent  American,  wrote  in  his 
diary  for  July  8:  "All  is  tranquil  and  the  town  is  almost  deserted,  for  many  of  the  (Mexican) 
officials  have  fled  to  the  country." 

July  9,  Montgomery  raised  the  American  flag  at  San  Francisco. 

*ne  "Bear   Flag"  at  Sonoma  was  replaced  by  an  American  flag. 

Within  three  days,  the  two  ports  of  Alta  California  had  been  captured  without  firing  a  gun. 
Unfortunately,  the  conquest  of  all  California  was  not  so  peaceful. 

Sloat  made  daily  efforts  to  find  Fremont,  but,  although  he  heard  almost  every  day  of  the 
Captain's  activities  in  and  around  Yerba  Buena,  he  did  not  succeed  in  establishing  direct  com- 
munication with  him  till  July  19. 

After  the  departure  of  Commodore  Jones  in  1842,  Governor  Micheltorena  had  hidden  his 
extra  guns  and  ammunition  at  San  Juan  Bautista. 

July  12,  Sloat  learned  that  General  Castro,  when  pursued  by  Fremont,  had  hidden  two  field 
pieces  and  their  shot  at  San  Juan. 

July  17,  Mr.  Fauntleroy  was  sent  with  his  command  to  reconnoitre  as  far  as  Mission  San  Juan 
and  to  recover  the  buried  guns. 

"On  his  arrival  there,"  runs  Commodore  Sloat's  report,  "he  found  that  the  place  had  been 
taken  possession  of  an  hour  or  two  before  by  Captain  Fremont,  with  whom  he  returned  to  Monte- 
rey on  the  19th."* 

Although  the  Americans  had  feared  British  interference  in  California,  no  English  ship  appeared 
until  July  16. 

•The  old  Presidio  at  San  Juan  was  sold  to  the  Breen  family.  By  the  addition  of  a  wooden  second  story  they 
turned  it  into  a  hotel.  As  it  was  directly  across  from  the  Plaza,  it  came  to  be  called  the  Plaza  Hotel,  under  which 
name  it  still  does  business. 


CONQUEST  OF  CALIFORNIA  43 

According  to  Sloat's  official  report:  "On  the  16th,  the  British  Admiral,  Sir  George  F.  Seymour, 
arrived  in  the  Collingwood.  An  officer  was  immediately  sent  to  tender  him  the  usual  courtesies 
and  facilities  of  the  port.  He  sailed  for  the  Sandwich  Islands  the  23rd." 

July  25,  Sloat  turned  over  his  command  to  Commodore  Stockton,  who  had  just  come  from  the 
United  States  to  assist  Sloat. 

General  Castro,  driven  out  of  Alta  California  by  Fremont,  had  assumed  command  of  the 
Mexican  forces  in  the  south. 

One  of  the  American  boats,  the  Cyane,  left,  July  27,  for  San  Diego,  bearing  Fremont  and  his 
riflemen  to  wage  war  against  Castro  and  his  six  or  eight  hundred  waltzing  warriors.  Stockton 
had  appointed  Fremont  to  command  the  "Naval  Battalion,"  but  neither  this  fact  nor  the  destination 
of  the  Cyane  was  made  public. 

Part  of  his  garrison  being  thus  removed,  Stockton  determined  to  set  up  a  government  that 
would  help  keep  things  peaceful.  July  28,  he  appointed  Walter  Colton,  chaplain  on  board  the 
U.  S.  S.  Congress,  Alcalde  of  Monterey. 

LAW    AND    ORDER   A    LA    AMERICAN 

"The  capital  of  this  queer  country,"  says  one  of  the  army  officers,  "is  a  mere  collection  of 
buildings  scattered  as  loosely  as  if  they  were  so  many  bullocks  at  pasture;  so  that  the  most  expert 
surveyor  could  not  possibly  classify  them  into  even  very  crooked  streets. 

"The  dwellings,  some  of  which  attain  to  the  dignity  of  a  second  story,  are  all  built  of  adobe, 
being  sheltered  on  every  side  from  the  sun  by  overhanging  eaves,  while  toward  the  rainy  quarter 
of  the  southeast  they  enjoy  the  additional  protection  of  boughs  of  trees  resting  like  so  many  ladders 
on  the  roof. 

"The  center  is  occupied  by  a  large  hall  to  which  everything  else  is  subordinate.  The  hall  is 
designed  and  used  for  dancing.  It  has  a  wood  floor  and  springs  nightly  to  the  step  of  those  who 
are  often  greeted  in  the  whirl  of  their  amusements  by  the  rising  sun." 

"Externally,  the  habitations  have  a  cheerless  aspect  in  consequence  of  the  paucity  of  windows. 
As  to  public  buildings,  this  capital  of  a  Province  may  with  a  stretch  of  charity  be  said  to  possess 
four.  First  is  the  church,  part  of  which  is  going  to  decay,  while  another  part  is  not  yet  finished; 
its  only  peculiarity  is  that  it  is  built,  or  rather  half-built,  of  stone.  Next  comes  the  castillo,  con- 


44  CONQUEST  OF  CALIFORNIA 

sisting  of  a  small  house,  surrounded  by  a  low  wall,  all  of  adobe.  Third  is  the  guard  house,  a 
paltry  mud  hut  without  windows.  Fourth  and  last  stands  the  custom  house,  which  is,  or  promises 
to  be,  for  it  is  not  yet  completed,  a  small  range  of  decent  offices." 

On  Thursday,  July  30,  Colton  entered  upon  his  duties  as  Alcalde  of  Monterey.  They  were 
about  the  same  as  those  of  the  mayor  of  a  large  city  without  any  of  the  helps  that  such  a  mayor 
has. 

In  the  quaint  old  capital  were  emigrants  from  nearly  every  civilized  nation  in  the  world,  most 
of  them  lured  thither  by  the  prospect  of  finding  a  land  of  perpetual  spring,  where  labor  and  law 
were  unnecessary  and  unknown.  With  such  citizens  to  rule,  the  Alcalde's  task  was  doubly  hard. 

Colton  dwelt  at  length  upon  the  high  import  duties  he  found  on  even  the  cheapest  articles. 
"Unbleached  cotton,  which  cost  in  the  United  States  6c  per  yard,  cost  here  50c,  and  shirtings,  75c," 
he  wrote.  "Plain  knives  and  forks  cost  $10  the  dozen;  coarse  rawhide  shoes,  $3  the  pair;  the  cheap- 
est tea,  $3  the  pound,  and  a  pair  of  common  truck  wheels,  $75.  The  duty  alone  on  the  coarsest 
hat,  even  if  made  of  straw,  was  $3." 

"The  revenues  derived  from  these  enormous  imposts  have  passed  into  the  hands  of  a  few  indi- 
viduals who  have  placed  themselves  by  violence  or  fraud  at  the  head  of  the  government." 

Such  conditions  could  only  exist  because  of  the  Californians'  indifference  to  law  and  govern- 
ment. A  typical  instance  of  their  carefree  indifference  is  found  in  the  Alcalde's  diary:  "Two  pris- 
oners asked  permission  to  have  their  guitars.  In  the  evening  when  the  streets  were  still  and  the 
soft  moonlight  melted  through  the  grates  of  their  prison,  their  music  streamed  out  upon  the  quiet 
air  with  wonderful  sweetness  and  power." 

As  gay  as  their  spirits  was  the  costume  of  the  Mexican  caballeros.     A  broad-brimmed,  pointed- 

t^.y  crowned  hat  of  leather,  glazed  to  a  mirror-like  polish,  rested  on  a  huge,  red  silk  handkerchief  wound, 

'f   /*  turban  fashion,  around  the  head.     A  band  under  the  chin  held  the  hat  in   place,  while  a  gold  or 

>        silk  cord  and  tassel,  dangling  over  the  side  of  the  hat,  hid  itself  in  the  mass  of  dark  locks  that 

curled  around  his  shoulders. 

A  wide,  white  collar  rolled  over  the  blue  "spencer"  (vest),  which  fitted  close  like  a  coat  of 
mail.  Gold  buttons  or  silk  braid  to  match  the  hat  tassel,  ornamenting  the  vest,  rivaled  in  bril- 
liancy the  red  silk  sash  around  the  loins. 


From  the  Charles  B.  Turrill  Historical  Collection 


From  Charles  B.  Tunill  Hislorical  Collection 


CONQUEST  OF  CALIFORNIA  45 

The  black  velvet  trousers,  held  in  place  by  the  sash,  were  slit  up  to  the  knee,  revealing  tight- 
fitting  buckskin  leggings,  elaborately  carved. 

Spurs  with  ten-inch  shafts  ending  in  rollers  of  six  points,  each  at  least  three  inches  long, 
rattled  against  steel  plates,  keeping  time  to  his  song: 

"Vamos    arriba,  muchachos ; 

Amarense  bien  las  botas; 
Vamonos    a    Monterey, 
A  comer  puras  bellotas." 

******* 

Up  and  away,  my  jolly  boys  all; 

Fasten    your   boots   very  tight  to  your  feet; 
Up  and  away  to  gay  Monterey, 

Sweetest   and  choicest  of  acorns  to  eat. 

The  stirrups  on  the  saddle  were  of  wood;  the  pommel  rose  high  to  the  front  and  back,  and  a 
wide  skirt  of  stamped  leather,  through  which  glistened  a  red  silk  scrape  folded  out  of  the  way, 
hung  down  on  all  sides  of  the  saddle. 

Like  the  Romans,  they  had  four  meals  a  day:  breakfast  at  eight,  dinner  at  twelve,  tea  at 
three,  and  supper,  the  chief  meal  of  the  day,  at  eight. 

They  picnicked  by  day  and  danced  by  night,  save  when  church  or  sleep  demanded  a  few  pre- 
cious hours, 
^l       They  measured  their  ranches  in  leagues  and  bounded  them  by  rivers  and  mountains. 

Their  cattle  were  never  really  counted,  but  once  a  year  the  rancheros  held  a  big  rodeo 
(round-up),  lasting  a  week  or  more,  at  which  there  was  a  general  round-up  and  branding  by  each 
of  such  stock  as  seemed  to  be  his  own.  All  their  neighbors  and  friends  came;  a  beef,  or  some- 
times two  or  three,  were  barbecued.  Even  the  total  stranger,  passing  along  the  road,  was  welcome 
to  stop  to  rest  his  horse  and  join  in  the  revels. 

Often  the  hostess  was  the  mother  of  twenty  or  more  children,  all  living,  yet  she  was  the  gayest 
of  them  all,  and  as  pretty  as  her  daughters.  As  one  lady  said:  "My  husband  gives  me 


46  CONQUEST  OF  CALIFORNIA 

that  I  want.     I  give  him  myself  and  his  children.     There  is  an  Indian  girl  for  every  baby  as  soon 
as  it  is  born;  I  have  only  to  bear  and  love  them.     Why  should  I  not  dance?" 

More  serious  things  than  rodeos  were  claiming  the  attention  of  the  Americans  in  the  latter 
forties. 

On  August  14,  1846,  a  band  of  Indian  hoi*se  thieves  began  their  operations  on  a  rancho  near 
Monterey.  Captain  Mervine  captured  some  Indians  thought  to  be  the  chief  and  about  twenty  of  his 
followers  and  brought  them  to  Monterey  for  trial. 

Unlike  most  of  the  Monterey  Indians,  the  chief  was  over  seven  feet  tall.  "His  long  hair 
streamed  in  darkness  down  to  his  waist/'  said  Colton.  "His  features  strikingly  resembled  those  of 
General  Jackson.  His  forehead  was  high,  his  eye  full  of  fire  and  his  mouth  betrayed  great  deci- 
sion." 

He  successfully  showed  that  the  thieves  did  not  belong  to  his  tribe  and  that  his  own  men  had 
done  no  wrong.  He  was  therefore  given  a  military  uniform,  recognized  as  leader  of  his  tribe  and 
made  responsible  for  their  future  acts. 

CREATION    OF   CALIFORNIA   LITERATURE 

Amid  the  tumult  of  war,  California's  literature  was  born.  The  first  edition  of  the  first  paper 
ever  published  in  California  appeai'ed  on  Saturday,  August  15,  1846.  The  paper  was  to  be  issued 
every  Saturday.  Colton  was  the  editor-in-chief. 

He  took  as  partner,  Semple,  a  man  of  varied  experiences  in  almost  every  part  of  the  known 
world.  Colton  described  his  partner  as  "an  emigrant  from  Kentucky,  who  stands  six  foot  eight  in 
his  stockings.  He  is  in  a  buckskin  dress,  a  foxskin  cap,  is  true  with  his  rifle,  ready  with  his  pen 
and  quick  at  his  type  case." 

The  only  press  in  California  was  "an  old  Ramage  press,  of  wooden  frame,  wooden  bed  and 
plates  of  hardwood,  worked  by  a  screw  and  capable  of  making  one  hundred  impressions  an  hour." 

It  had  been  brought  to  Monterey  from  Boston  in  1833  by  Thomas  Shaw.  Its  original  cost 
was  $400  and  it  was  used  by  the  Governor  and  his  secretary,  Zamarano,  to  print  official  documents 
and  proclamations. 

"The  press,"  Colton  confided  to  his  diary,  "was  old  enough  to  be  preserved  as  a  curiosity;  the 
mice  had  burrowed  into  the  balls ;  there  were  no  rules,  no  leads ;  the  types  were  all  rusty  and  in 


CONQUEST  OF  CALIFORNIA  47 

pi.  It  was  only  by  scouring  that  the  letters  could  be  made  to  show  their  faces.  A  sheet  or  two 
of  tin  were  procured  and  these  with  a  jackknife  were  cut  into  rules  and  leads. 

"Luckily,  we  found  with  the  press  the  greater  part  of  a  keg  of  ink,  and  now  came  the  main 
scratch  for  paper.  None  could  be  found  except  what  is  used  to  envelope  the  tobacco  of  the  cigars 
smoked  here  by  the  natives.  A  coaster  had  a  small  supply  on  board  which  we  procured.  It  is  in 
sheets  a  little  larger  than  the  ordinary  foolscap  and  this  is  the  size  of  our  first  paper,  which  we 
have  christened  the  Californian. 

"A  crowd  was  waiting  when  the  first  sheet  was  thrown  from  the  press.  Never  was  a  bank  run 
upon  harder;  not,  however,  by  people  with  paper  to  get  specie,  but  exactly  the  reverse. 

"One-half  the  paper  is  in  English,  the  other  in  Spanish.  The  subscription  per  year  is  $5, 
the  price  of  a  single  copy  is  12^c,  and  it  is  considered  cheap  at  that." 

*"Our  Alphabet:  Our  type  is  a  Spanish  font  picked  up  here  in  a  cloister  and  has  no  w's  in  it, 
as  there  are  none  in  Spanish.  I  have  sent  to  the  Sandwich  Islands  for  this  letter;  in  the  mean- 
time we  must  use  two  v's.  Our  paper  at  present  is  that  used  for  wrapping  segars.  In  due  time 
we  wil  have  something  better.  Our  object  is  to  establish  a  press  in  California  and  in  this  we 
wil  probably  succeed.  The  absence  of  my  pertner  for  the  last  three  months  and  my  duties  as 
Alcalde  here  have  dedrived  our  little  paper  of  some  of  those  attentions  wich  I  hope  it  wil  here- 
after receive." 

On  September  23,  the  first  exchange,  the  Oregon  Spectator,  was  brought  over  by  a  hunter. 
Colton  announced  it  as  a  windfall,  but  the  only  news  from  the  States  it  contained  was  that  brought 
to  its  editor  by  an  overland  emigrant. 

Semple,  a  bachelor,  seemed  deeply  interested  in  the  ladies  of  Monterey.  In  the  Californian  of 
August  29  he  wrote:  "The  ladies,  who  are  numerous,  are  handsome  and  some  of  them  beautiful, 
very  sprightly,  industrious  and  amiable  in  their  manners ;  affectionate  to  their  relatives  and  friends ; 
kind  to  their  neighbors  and  generous  even  to  their  enemies,  and  we  are  in  hopes  that  their  mild 
and  genial  influence  will  go  far  to  bring  about  that  amity  of  feeling  which  is  so  desirable  between 
the  old  and  new  citizens  of  this  highly  favored  country." 

THE  WASHTUB'MAIL 

The  Californian's  only  rival  as  purveyor  of  news  was  the  Washtub  Mail.     Just  on  the  outskirts 

•Quoted  from  "Californian." 


48  CONQUEST  OF  CALIFORNIA 

of  Monterey  were  some  springs  which  were  the  washtubs  of  the  town.  Thither  went  the  maid  serv- 
ants and  the  housewives  who  could  not  afford  servants.  Each  babbled  of  the  things  that  she  saw 
and  heard  in  her  own  home. 

Often,  too,  a  young  man  would  stop  there  to  chat  with  his  favorite.  So  were  carried  such 
thrilling  tales  of  intrigues  as  the  plots  of  Alvarado  to  imprison  the  foreigners  who  had  helped  to 
make  him  Governor. 

But  their  real  information  came  from  the  Indians,  always  on  the  move,  who  stopped  at  the 
springs  and  from  the  politicians,  who  told  some  news  that  they  might  learn  more. 

For  the  Gringos,  who  necessarily  were  not  numbered  among  the  intimate  friends  of  the  promi- 
nent Californians,  the  Washtub  Mail  was  the  one  means  of  hearing  any  "town  talk." 

For  a  trinket,  a  new  mantilla,  or  a  piece  of  gold,  these  washerwomen  would  tell  anyone  the 
very  latest  news.  It  was  almost  sure  to  be  true,  too,  for  they  wanted  people  to  come  again  with 
more  gold  pieces  and  bright  scarfs. 

"It  is  an  old  mail,"  said  Alcalde  Colton,  "that  has  long  been  run  in  California  and  has  an- 
nounced more  revolutions,  plots  and  counterplots  than  there  are  mummies  in  Memphis." 

Only  when  a  love  story  was  involved  did  the  Washtub  Mail  prevaricate.  No  one  bought  love 
stories,  so  there  was  no  need  for  them  to  be  true. 

FIRST   JURY   TRIAL 

When  Colton  had  assumed  the  duties  of  Alcalde,  there  were  no  prisons  except  the  military 
guard  house.  White  people  were  fined,  Indians  whipped  for  all  except  capital  offenses.  He  sub- 
stituted labor  on  the  public  buildings  for  both  punishments. 

On  Friday,  September  4,  1846,  he  empaneled  the  first  jury  ever  summoned  in  California. 
"One-third  of  the  jury,"  he  says,  "were  Mexicans,  one-third  Californians  and  the  rest  Americans. 
The  plaintiff  spoke  in  English;  the  defendant  in  French;  the  jury,  save  the  Americans,  in  all  the 
languages  known  to  California." 

It  was  a  civil  suit,  Isaac  Graham,  plaintiff,  charged  that  the  defendant  had  shipped  away  wood 
belonging  to  the  plaintiff.  Mr.  W.  E.  P.  Hartnell,  one  of  the  jurors,  acted  as  interpreter.  The 
jury  was  out  less  than  an  hour;  returned  a  verdict  in  favor  of  the  plaintiff,  and  even  the  defendant 
was  satisfied. 


CONQUEST  OF  CALIFORNIA  49 

In  fact,  the  people  were  so  well  satisfied  with  Colton  that,  on  September  15th,  when  his  mili- 
tary commission  as  Alcalde  expired,  they  elected  him  to  succeed  himself  in  that  office. 

In  the  southern  part  of  the  State  the  American  troops  under  Stockton  and  Fremont  were  still 
waging  comic  opera  warfare  against  General  Castro  and  taking  city  after  city  without  firing  a  shot. 

All  who  voluntarily  surrendered  were  paroled  upon  their  taking  oath  not  to  fight  against  the 
United  States  again  during  the  existing  war. 

%^'  Governor  Pico  and  General  Flores  had  surrendered  Los  Angeles  to  Lieutenant  Gillespie  after 
only  a  nominal  resistance.  On  Friday,  September  18th,  Stockton  sent  Kit  Carson  from  Monterey 
to  bear  dispatches  to  Washington  telling  of  his  easy  and  complete  conquest  of  California. 

Eleven  days  after  Carson  left  Monterey  with  his  rosy  colored  dispatches,  a  courier,  half  dead 
from  his  long  ride,  arrived  from  Los  Angeles  with  the  news  that  Pico  and  Flores  had  broken  their 
parole  and  that  the  insurgents  were  besieging  that  city,  and  that  because  of  the  small  number  of 
the  American  garrison  there  under  Lieutenant  Gillespie,  they  were  not  expected  to  hold  out  many 
days  longer. 

Probably  no  one  thing  did  so  much  to  gain  the  lasting  allegiance  of  the  thinking  Californians 
as  this  dishonorable  attempt  of  the  insurgents  to  drive  out  the  Gringo  after  having  accepted 
parole.  All  the  leaders  and  most  of  the  participants  in  this  rebellion  were  paroled  prisoners. 

The  real  attitude  of  the  saner  part  of  the  Californians  is  proven  by  the  fact  that  in  Alta 
California  the  conquest  was  completed  with  only  one  real  battle — that  of  Salinas.  This  was 
fought  between  the  Americans  under  Captain  Burroughs  and  a  party  of  insurgents,  allied  with 
those  from  the  south,  under  Manuel  Castro.  Although  neither  side  won  a  decided  victory,  it 
broke  the  power  of  the  insurgents  in  the  north. 

A    CALIFORNIA   CHRISTMAS 

By  the  time  Christmas  eve  had  come,  the  Montereyans  had  so  far  forgotten  the  dangers  and 
horrors  of  war  as  to  hold  their  usual  Christmas  celebrations. 

At  sunset  the  bells  rang  out  a  merry  chime;  the  windows  were  filled  with  streaming  light; 
bonfires  on  plain  and  steep  sent  out  their  pyramids  of  flame,  and  the  skyrockets  burst  high  over 
all  in  showering  fire. 

While  the  bonfires  still  blazed  high,  the  crowd    moved    toward   the   church,    which    was    soon 


50  CONQUEST  OF  CALIFORNIA 

filled.  Before  the  altar  bent  the  Virgin  Mother  in  wonder  and  love  over  her  new-born  babe. 
A  company  of  shepherds  entered  in  flowing  robes  with  high  wands  garnished  with  silken  streamers 
in  which  floated  all  the  colors  of  the  rainbow  and  surrounded  with  coronals  of  flowers. 

In  their  wake  followed  a  hermit,  with  his  long  white  beard,  tattered  missal  and  sin  chastising 
lash.  Near  him  figured  a  wild  hunter  in  the  skins  of  the  forest,  bearing  a  huge  truncheon  sur- 
mounted by  an  iron  rim  from  which  hung  in  jingling  chime  fragments  of  all  sonorous  metals. 

Then  came,  last  of  all,  the  Evil  One,  with  horned  frontlet,  disguised  hoof  and  robe  of  crimson 
flame. 

The  shepherds  were  led  on  by  the  Angel  Gabriel,  in  purple  wings  and  garments  of  light. 
They  approached  the  manger  and,  kneeling,  hymned  their  wonder  worship  in  a  sweet  chant  that 
was  sustained  by  the  rich  tones  of  exulting  harps. 

The  hermit  and  hunter  were  not  among  them;  they  had  been  beguiled  by  the  Tempter  and 
were  lingering  at  a  game  of  dice.  The  hermit  seemed  to  suspect  that  all  was  not  right,  and  read 
his  missal  vehemently  in  the  pauses  of  the  game;  but  the  hunter  was  troubled  by  none  of  these 
scruples,  staked  his  soul  and  lost. 

Emboldened  by  his  success,  the  Tempter  showed  himself  among  the  shepherds,  but  here  he 
encountered  Gabriel  who  knew  him  of  old.  He  quailed  under  the  eye  of  that  invincible  angel  and 
fled  his  presence.  The  hermit  and  hunter,  once  more  disenthralled,  paid  their  penitential  homage. 
The  shepherds  departed,  singing  their  hosannas  while  the  voices  of  the  whole  assembly  rose  in  the 
choral  strain. 

As  a  token  of  respect,  this   performance  was   repeated   next   evening  at  the   Alcalde's   house. 

Two  weeks  later  Senor  Colton  was  initiated  into  the  annual  egg-breaking  festival.  A  young 
lady,  utterly  unmindful  of  his  official  dignity,  broke  a  cascarone  over  the  Alcalde's  head  while  he 
was  talking  business  to  her  father. 

"In  making  cascarones,"  says  the  Alcalde  recounting  his  experience,  "the  natural  contents  of 
the  egg  are  blown  out.  The  shell  is  filled  with  scented  water  or,  more  often,  with  gold  tinsel  and 
flashing  paper  cut  into  ten  thousand  minute  particles.  The  tinsel  is  rubbed  by  a  dash  of  the  hand 
into  your  hair  and  requires  no  little  brushing  to  get  it  out.  The  antagonist  is  always  of  the  oppo- 
site sex.  You  must  return  those  shots  or  encounter  raillery  which  is  worse." 


CONQUEST  OF  CALIFORNIA  51 

One  of  the  gayest  of  the  young  American  officers  who  tried  to  master  the  intricacies  of  the 
contra  danza  or  spent  weary  hours  cutting  bright  paper  into  tiny  bits  to  fill  transitory  casca- 
rones  was  Captain  W.  T.  Sherman,  afterward  the  General  who  was  our  hero  of  the  March  to  the 
Sea  in  the  Civil  War. 

His  letters  to  his  fiancee,  Miss  Ewing,  in  St.  Louis,  are  full  of  quaint  glimpses  of  Monterey 
and  life  in  California. 

"The  country  is  lovely  in  the  extreme;  the  hills  are  bare,  but  covered  with  high  grass  and 
wild  oats;  the  slope  and  valleys  near  town  wooded  with  pine  and  live  oak,  and  in  the  valley 
farther  off  sycamore  and  hemlock. 

"The  prospect  from  a  ship  at  anchor  is  fine.  The  amphitheater  in  which  the  town  is  situ- 
ated, the  green  hills  back,  looking  as  though  cultivated,  the  groups  of  live  oaks  resembling  apple 
trees,  all  deceive  and  make  one  believe  he  is  looking  upon  an  old  and  highly  cultivated  country. 
Such  is  not,  however,  the  case,  for  there  is  not  an  orchard  or  vineyard  in  the  country  except  those 
attached  to  the  missions ;  no  fields  save  little  patches  of  beans  and  wheat  planted  by  the  Indians 
and  no  gardens  save  the  miserable  ones  begun  by  foreigners. 

"Game  abounds,  but  all  sorts  of  provisions  except  beef  are  scarce  and  exceeding  dear.  Flour 
at  $28  a  barrel,  and  hard  to  get  at  that;  potatoes  several  dollars  a  bushel. 

"Monterey  is  composed  of  houses  built  of  adobe  or  sun-dried  brick  of  one  or  two  stories, 
with  a  narrow  balcony  across  the  whole  front.  About  a  dozen  houses  are  comfortable  and  the  rest 
mere  hovels.  There  are  some  families  that  style  themselves  Dons,  do  nothing  but  walk  the  streets 
with  peaked,  broad-brimmed  hats  and  cloaks,  or  scrapes,  which  are  brightly  colored,  checkered 
panchos,  a  colored  shirt,  silk  or  fancy  pants  slashed  down  the  outside  with  fringe  or  buttons,  shoes 
on  their  feet  and  a  cigar  in  their  mouth.  Such  characters  were  scarce  when  we  first  came,  but 
Monterey  is  becoming  repopulated,  for  all  have  come  back  from  the  war  to  the  southward. 

"The  poorer  classes  are  exactly  like  Indians,  and  most  of  them  are  descended  from  those 
Indians  that  were  taught  civilization  and  Christianity  by  the  old  missionaries.  The  women  are 
like  all  the  other  Spanish  women,  the  prouder  the  more  Castilian  blood  they  can  boast  of.  Some 
are  pretty;  all  dance  and  waltz  well,  but  scorn  the  vulgar  accomplishments  of  reading  and  writing. 


52  CONQUEST  OF  CALIFORNIA 

They  are  fond  of  dancing,  and  every  night  of  the  carnival  before  Lent  there  was  a  fandango  at 
some  of  the  houses." 

The  Mexican  "gentleman  of  leisure"  was  the  chief  victim  of  Sherman's  ridicule.     He  wrote: 

"A  rancho  is  a  farm,  consisting  of  one,  two  and  sometimes  twelve  leagues  square.  On  each 
there  is  generally  a  house  or  hut  of  adobe,  covered  with  rushes  and  clapboards,  near  it  a  pen  called 
a  corral,  where  at  night  the  horses  and  cattle  are  herded  to  be  safe  from  theft  by  the  Indians. 

"Near  some  of  the  ranches  there  are  small  fields  of  corn,  wheat,  potatoes  and  beans;  but  there 
are  by  no  means  plenty,  as  it  is  difficult  to  hoe  potatoes  on  horseback,  and  any  employment  on  foot 
is  degrading.  The  ox  pulls  the  plough,  which  is  nothing  but  a  stick  sharpened  at  the  end  and 
sometimes  shod  with  a  piece  of  iron. 

"All  they  want  is  a  good  horse,  a  lasso,  glazed  hat  and  tassels,  flashy  scrape,  slashed  panta- 
loons tipped  with  velvet  and  corded  with  bright  silk  ties  and  a  pair  of  spurs  as  big  as  a  plate. 
Then  they  are  happy  and  sit  down  to  their  greasy  platter  of  beans  and  mutton  and  pity  the  poor 
Yankee. 

"The  women  are  better,  kinder  and  more  industrious.  They  have  to  wash  all  the  clothes,  grind 
all  the  corn  on  a  stone  by  rubbing  another  over  it,  plant  their  patches  of  onions  and  red  peppers 
and  do  all  the  cooking.  Some  of  them  are  quite  amiable,  pretty  and  have  good  minds,  which  if 
cultivated  would  make  them  above  the  average.  As  they  now  are,  they  are  servants.  In  the  towns 
they  pretend  to  some  luxury,  have  pictures  hanging  on  the  walls,  looking  glasses,  Yankee  clocks 
and  a  sofa.  Carpets  are  very  rare." 

In  another  letter  he  described  a  Monterey  funeral: 

"The  child  of  Don  Castro  (still  in  arms  against  us),  a  little  girl  about  nine  years  old  and 
very  beautiful,  died  about  three  weeks  ago.  All  the  girls  of  the  town  repaired  to  the  house,  and 
two  days  were  spent  in  decorating  the  person  of  the  little  girl.  A  miniature  couch  with  delicate 
lace  curtains,  neatly  drawn  from  the  decorated  canopy,  made  her  bier,  on  which  she  was  borne 
slowly  through  the  streets  to  the  church.  A  promiscuous  company  followed,  not  silently,  two  by 
two,  but  gaily,  without  order  and  with  a  band  of  music. 

"I  was  on  the  piazza  of  the  Government  House  near  which  it  passed  and  saw  the  child  lying 
as  though  sleeping  on  its  little  bed.  Its  bearers  were  women  who  set  their  burden  down  fre- 


CONQUEST  OF  CALIFORNIA  53 

quently  to  rest  or  talk,  and  during  this  time  the  band,  consisting  of  harps  and  violins  and  some 
jingling  instruments,  kept  playing  Spanish  tunes. 

"Guns  were  fired  from  the  houses  which  they  passed,  and  finding  such  was  the  custom  of  the 
country  we  got  some  pistols  and  fired  a  perfect  salvo — of  rejoicing  that  the  child  had  gone  to 
heaven." 

Romances  were  woven  round  all  the  American  officers,  but  none  has  traveled  farther  nor  been 
more  universally  believed  than  that  which  links  the  name  of  General  W.  T.  Sherman  with  that  of 
Seiiorita  Bonifacio,  the  belle  of  Monterey. 

No  one  in  the  whole  province  had  such  beautiful  and  rare  roses  as  she ;  and  no  surer  road  to 
her  favor  could  be  found  than  the  present  of  a  new  slip. 

Captain  Sherman  (as  he  then  was),  runs  the  legend,  when  he  was  leaving  Monterey,  gave  her 
a  cloth  of  gold  rose  to  plant  in  her  garden.  So  long  as  it  grew,  he  would  be  faithful  and  when  it 
bloomed  she  would  be  his  bride.  Such  was  his  legendary  promise. 

The  rose  blooms  year  after  year  in  fadeless  beauty.  Seiiorita  Bonifacio  is  still  unwed;  only 
the  gay  captain  who  married  Miss  Ewing  is  gone. 

Four  years  ago,  General  Sherman's  son,  a  Catholic  priest,  went  with  a  friend  to  visit  Senorita 
Bonifacio.  The  friend  acted  as  interpreter,  for  the  lady  speaks  only  Spanish. 

"Do  I  look  anything  like  the  old  gentleman?"    (Being  very  like  him.) 

"What  old  gentleman  does  he  mean?" 

"Why,  General  Sherman,  my  father,"  answered  the  lad,  piqued  at  her  calm  indifference. 

"I  do  not  remember  what  he  looked  like." 

"Did  my  father  help  you  plant  the  rose?" 

"You  had  better  ask  the  old  gentleman." 

"Well,  why  do  you  have  a  sign  put  on  your  gate,  saying  that  here  is  the  home  of  the  Sher- 
man Rose?" 

"I  have  nothing  to  do  with  it." 

"But  is  the  story  true?     Did  he  plant  a  rose  bush?" 

"I  repeat,  that  is  a  question  which  you  will  have  to  put  to  the  old  gentleman.  I  cannot  tell 
you  what  he  did." 


54  CONQUEST  OF  CALIFORNIA 

His  curiosity  still  unsatisfied,  the  young  man  had  to  leave.  Perhaps  when  he  meets  the  old 
gentleman  in  another  world  he  may  ask  the  question  then  and  hear  its  true  answer. 

All  Americans  were  not  so  fortunate  in  their  wooings  as  Captain  Sherman.  One  of  the  officers 
who  was  deeply  enamored  of  a  certain  Spanish  maiden  went  night  after  night  with  his  guitar 
(which  he  had  learned  to  play  at  college)  and,  seated  on  the  rain  barrel  beneath  her  window,  sang 
passionate  songs  of  love. 

Being  an  American,  he  did  not  know  that  when  she  failed  to  put  a  light  in  her  window  or 
drop  some  note  to  him  she  was  refusing  his  love  more  plainly  than  words  could  have  done. 

At  last,  weary  of  being  disturbed  by  his  unwelcome  music,  the  lady  attached  a  string  to  the 
cover  of  the  rain  barrel  and  held  the  other  end  at  her  window. 

In  the  midst  of  his  saddest  song,  she  pulled  the  rope.  The  music  was  literally  "drowned," 
nor  were  her  slumbers  again  disturbed  by  the  Americano. 

Life  in  Monterey  in  Captain  Sherman's  time  was  not  all  a  round  of  gaieties.  Early  in  Feb- 
ruary, 1847,  the  war  in  Baja  California  came  to  an  end,  and  the  specter  of  war  that  had  been 
threatening  Alta  California  vanished  before  the  actual  force  of  the  American  fleet. 

Meanwhile  far  more  serious  problems  than  the  mere  armed  conquest  of  California  confronted 
her  new  rulers.  Colton  was  working  night  and  day  to  suppress  gambling  and  vice.  By  March  he 
had  the  foundation  of  a  new  school  house  laid. 

"The  building,"  he  says,  "is  to  be  thirty  by  sixty  feet,  two  stories,  suitably  proportioned,  with 
a  handsome  portico.  The  labor  of  the  convicts,  the  tax  on  liquors  and  the  banks  of  the  gamblers 
must  put  it  up." 

Two  months  later  the  first  monte  (gambling  bank)  ever  run  in  California  was  opened  in  a 
little  shack  called  the  Astor  House.  It  would  rank  now  as  a  sixth  class  boarding  house. 

After  a  great  deal  of  scheming,  Colton  gathered  fifty  of  the  gamblers  into  the  hotel  parlor 
without  in  the  least  arousing  their  suspicions.  He  addressed  them:  "I  have  only  a  few  words  to 
say.  Gentlemen,  you  are  each  fined  $20." 

A  moment's  astonished  silence.  Then:  "You  ain't  found  no  cards  nor  nothin'.  Guess  a  man's 
got  as  much  right  to  sleep  under  his  bed  as  in  it  if  he  wants  to." 

"That  is  a  matter  of  taste.     You  are  each  fined  $20." 


CONQUEST  OF  CALIFORNIA 

The  Alcalde  of  San  Francisco  was  the  first  to  "come  through."  "Come,  my  good  fellows,"  he 
said.  "Pay  up  and  no  grumbling;  this  money  goes  to  build  a  school  house  where,  I  hope,  our 
children  will  be  taught  better  principles  than  they  gather  from  the  examples  of  their  fathers." 

So,  to  help  the  school,  the  fines  were  paid  without  a  murmur. 

While  Colton  was  getting  his  school  built,  the  guards  and  garrison  were  removed  from  Mont- 
Just  how  much  that  meant  may  be  gathered  from  the  diary  of  Lieutenant  Wise,  U.  S.  A. 
came  in  the  midst  of  the  rainy  season  and  with  his  companions  tramped  miserably  through  the 
muddy  streets  of  Monterey.  He  wrote: 

"The  ladies  received  us  with  surly  'adios,'  extorted  from  closed  teeth  and  scowling  faces. 
There  were  a  goodly  number  of  sentinels  on  the  alert,  prowling  about  with  heavy  knives  in  their 
girdles  and  the  locks  of  their  rifles  carefully  sheltered  from  the  rain.  At  night  it  became  a  matter 
of  bodily  danger  for  an  indifferent  person  to  come  suddenly  in  view  of  one  of  these  vigilant  gentle- 
men, for,  with  but  a  tolerable  ear  for  music,  he  might  detect  the  sharp  click  of  a  rifle  and  the  hoarse 
caution  of:  "Look  out  thar,  stranger!"  when,  if  the  individual  addressed  did  not  speedily  shout  his 
name  and  calling,  he  stood  the  merest  chance  of  having  another  eyelet  hole  bored  through  his  skull." 

Far  different  from  this  was  the  usual  Monterey  reception,  as  described  by  Colton  or  any  of 
the  other  prominent  Americans.  "You  are  not  expected  to  wait  for  a  particular  invitation,  but  to 
come  without  the  slightest  ceremony ;  make  yourself  entirely  at  home  and  stay  as  long  as  you  please. 
You  create  no  flutter  in  the  family;  awaken  no  apologies,  and  are  greeted  every  morning  with  the 
same  smile.  Generous,  forbearing  people  of  Monterey,  there  is  more  true  hospitality  in  one  throb 
of  your  hearts  than  circulates  for  years  through  the  courts  and  capitols  of  kings." 

In  May,  Semple  went  to  Yerba  Buena  and  took  with  him  the  printing  press  of  the  Californian. 
He  kept  on  issuing  the  paper  until  1850.  A  rival  sheet,  the  California  Star,  made  its  initial 
appearance  in  1849.  The  population  was  not  large  enough  to  support  two  papers,  so,  in  1850,  they 
combined  under  the  title  Alia  Californian. 

The  old  Monterey  press  after  the  establishment  of  the  Alia  was  brought  to  Sacramento,  and 
on  it  the  first  newspaper  in  the  Sacramento  Valley,  called  the  Placer  Times,  was  printed  at  Sutter's 
Fort.  Soon  the  paper  grew  beyond  the  press  capacity,  and  it  was  taken  to  Stockton  and  used  in 
the  publication  of  the  first  journal  in  that  city.  It  was  then  taken  to  Sonora  and  for  several 


56  CONQUEST  OF  CALIFORNIA 

years  used  for  printing  the  first  newspaper  there.  It  finally  went  to  Columbia  and  was  burned  by 
an  incendiary  because  of  trouble  with  the  editors  of  the  Columbia  paper. 

By  summer  of  1847  Colton's  duties  were  lighter.  People  were  becoming  accustomed  to  law 
and  were  less  prone  to  disregard  it.  Then,  too,  he  no  longer  had  to  write  for  the  Calif ornian. 

In  October  he  went  on  a  bear  hunt  with  a  party  of  California  gentlemen.  Just  before  sunset 
they  pitched  camp  in  the  mountains  about  fifteen  miles  back  of  Monterey.  The  chosen  place  was 
an  open  glade  in  the  midst  of  a  thicket  of  pines. 

A  bullock  was  killed  and  quartered  and  the  quarters  dragged  around  the  copse  to  give  the  bear 
a  scent.  The  meat  was  then  hung  up  on  a  tree  in  the  midst  of  the  glade. 

"After  a  camp  supper  and  a  good  cigar,  the  hunters  laid  down  to  sleep.  By  the  light  of  the 
moon  the  servant  saw  a  dim,  brown  form  approaching.  Hastily  he  awakened  the  men.  Instantly 
they  jumped  up  and  sprang  into  their  saddles. 

"A  cordon  was  formed  around  the  copse,  but  before  the  last  horse  had  taken  his  place,  the 
bear  made  a  burst  for  life  into  the  surrounding  thicket. 

"A  dozen  riatas  hissed  about  his  head  as  the  horsemen  gave  chase.  Finally  one  riata  settled 
around  his  neck  and  sank  deep  into  the  soft  fur  as  the  horse  stopped  suddenly. 

"Mad  with  rage,  the  bear  turned  on  his  opponent,  but  the  horse,  with  no  word  from  his  rider, 
kept  the  rope  taut  by  his  prancing. 

"A  sharp  hiss,  a  growl,  and  the  riata  had  slipped  from  its  loggerhead  and  bruin  was  making 
one  more  dash  for  liberty.  The  horse,  without  spur  or  rein,  dashed  after  him.  His  rider  throwing 
himself  over  his  side  and,  hanging  there  like  a  lampereel  to  a  flying  sturgeon,  recovered  his  lasso 
and  bruin  was  brought  up  again  all  standing,  more  furious  and  frantic  than  before,  while  the  horse 
pranced  and  curveted  around  him  like  a  savage  in  a  death  dance  over  his  doomed  victim." 

Next  day  a  wild  bull  was  lassoed  and  set  against  the  bear,  which  was  very  carefully  untied 
from  the  tree  to  which  it  had  been  lashed  all  night.  So  furious  was  the  ensuing  fight  that  the 
hunters  had  to  shoot  both  animals. 

Certain  lawless  young  Mexicans  saw  in  Colton's  temporary  absence  an  opportunity  for  all 
sorts  of  tricks.  They  took  special  delight  in  annoying  the  Spanish  Sisters  who  were  endeavoring  to 
keep  up  the  Convent  School  in  Monterey. 


t 


FIRST  FRAME  HOUSE 


SIMONEAU  AND  TEVENER 
IN  FRONT  OF  OLD  MEXICAN  JAIL 


CONQUEST  OF  CALIFORNIA  57 

One  day  a  big  Scotch-Irishman  who  had  drunk  too  freely  laid  down  on  the  sidewalk  in  front 
of  the  convent  to  sleep  it  off.  When  consciousness  was  just  returning,  he  saw  four  Mexicans  trying 
to  get  into  the  lower  windows.  His  strength  increased  by  drink,  the  ex-army  sergeant  rose  to  his  feet 
and  thrashed  the  four.  He  was  received  by  the  Sisters  "as  became  ladies  rewarding  their  pro- 
tector/' given  a  strong  cup  of  coffee,  and  sent  away  sober  with  their  blessing. 

In  spite  of  many  such  disturbances,  Monterey  prospered  under  Gringo  rule.  The  Alcalde's 
accounts  show  that  from  December,  1846,  to  June,  1848,  there  were  twelve  dry  goods  stores  each 
paying  a  license  fee  of  $1  per  month. 

The  sale  of  building  lots  was  phenomenal.  Prices  ranged  from  $10  to  $400  each.  Only  a 
few  were  cash  sales.  "No  poor  man,"  runs  a  note  in  the  Alcalde's  account  book  for  January, 
1848,  "has  been  denied  a  lot  of  land  who  was  willing  to  work  for  it — many  have  paid  for  their 
land  in  this  way.  The  town  is  credited  as  if  paid  in  cash,  and  their  bills  for  work  are  charged  to 
the  town  as  if  discharged  in  cash — this  is  done  to  prevent  complexity." 

INTRODUCTION    OF   BRICK    AND    LUMBER 

March  31,  1848,  a  brick  kiln  lot,  90  yards  long,  was  sold  to  George  D.  Dickerson  for  $29- 
Assisted  by  his  son-in-law,  Mr.  Lawry,  he  immediately  began  preparation  of  brick  for  a  mansion. 
Only  one  wing  was  ever  completed,  for  the  builders  hastened  away  to  the  gold  fields,  leaving  the 
first  brick  house  in  California  unfinished. 

While  Mr.  Lawry  was  baking  brick,  two  Australian  ships  came  into  Monterey  harbor.  There 
was  no  good  dock,  so  the  Captain  ordered  one  of  the  boats  to  be  beached  and  sunk  for  a  wharf. 
Before  night  a  great  pile  of  Australian  ironwood  lay  on  the  sand. 

Within  a  week  six  tiny  houses  of  sawn  lumber — the  first  in  California — were  ready  for  occu- 
pancy. Their  owner,  Mr.  Botchson,  had  brought  with  him  his  wife  and  invalid  daughter,  hoping 
that  the  climate  of  Monterey  would  restore  her  health. 

In  planning  the  trip  with  his  wife,  he  had  warned  her  that  there  were  no  houses  in  this  wild 
land.  Undaunted,  she  had  devised  a  scheme  of  having  a  house  made  in  sections  by  his  skilled 
Australian  workmen.  Each  section  was  to  be  numbered  and  fit,  so  that  even  an  English  sailor 
could  put  it  together. 


58  CONQUEST  OF  CALIFORNIA 

Seeing  in  her  suggestion  a  good  business  proposition,  Mr.  Botchson  had  six  made  instead  of 
one.  Four  he  sold;  two  he  put  up  side  by  side  for  their  own  use.* 

Their  journey  had  taken  nine  months,  and  out  of  the  sheep  and  cattle  they  had  brought  with 
them  for  food  only  one  cow  remained,  about  the  first  milk  cow  in  Monterey. 

A  few  months  after  they ,  came  to  Monterey,  Mr.  Botchson  died.  Suddenly  confronted  with 
the  necessity  of  earning  her  own  living,  his  widow  took  advantage  of  the  scarcity  of  good  boarding 
houses  in  Monterey  and  converted  the  ironwood  cottage  into  one. 

CUSTOM    HOUSE   ROBBERY 

Two  of  her  boarders  were  rather  mysterious.  One  evening,  hearing  a  queer  noise  in  their 
room,  she  slipped  softly  downstairs  to  watch  them. 

They  were  taking  gold  from  sacks  very  like  the  Custom  House  sacks  and  putting  it  in  a 
box.  The  box  when  filled  was  hid  beneath  the  steps,  one  of  which  was  loose. 

Then,  under  pretext  of  card  playing,  they  made  a  fire  in  the  yard  and  burned  the  sacks. 

Next  morning  she  was  gathering  chips  and,  on  the  sly,  looking  for  bits  of  sacks.  The  men 
grew  suspicious  that  she  had  seen  something  and  tried  to  bribe  her  to  silence.  They  failed. 

That  day,  a  young  friend,  fiancee  of  one  of  the  Customs  officers,  called.  Mrs.  Botchson  told 
the  story  of  the  sacks.  The  girl  confirmed  her  fears — the  Custom  House  had  been  robbed  of 
$30,000.  Together  they  went  to  the  girl's  lover  and  told  their  story. 

A  band  of  soldiers  raided  the  house.  They  found  a  woman  companion  of  the  Mexicans  sitting 
on  the  steps.  "Get  up,"  they  ordered.  "I'll  sit  still,"  she  replied.  The  officers  dragged  her  away, 
found  the  gold  and  began  a  search  for  the  thieves.  They  were  caught  but  not  convicted  until  years 
later  when  they  confessed,  as  one  of  their  biggest  "hauls,"  the  Custom  House  robbery  of  1848. 

CARMELO 

Life  in  Carmel  in  the  '40s  had  less  tinsel  and  glitter  than  that  at  the  Capitol,  but  was  no 
less  exciting. 

Lieutenant  Wise,  growing  weary  of  the  social  barriers  of  Monterey,  wandered  across  the  hills 
to  Carmel  where  the  walls  of  caste  were  broken  down  like  the  old  adobes  of  the  mission. 

"A  quaint,  old  church,"  he  writes,  "falling  to  decay,  with  crumbling  tower  and  belfry,  broken 
*The  two,  known  as  the  "First  Lumber  House  in  Cal.,"  are    still    used   by  Mr.    Brotchson's   great-grandchildren; 
one  forms  part  of  a  meat  market  on  Alvarado  Street,  and  the  others  are  used  only  as  sheds. 


CONQUEST  OF  CALIFORNIA  59 

roofs  and  long  lines  of  mud-built  dwellings,  all  in  ruins,  is  what  remains  of  Mission  San  Carlos. 
It  still  presents  a  picturesque  appearance,  standing  on  a  little  rise  above  a  broad,  fertile  plain  of 
many  acres,  adjacent  to  the  banks  of  the  river  and  at  the  base  a  large  orchard  of  fruits  and 
flowers.'V 

He  found  a  gay  Mexican  senora  and  her  daughter  in  possession  of  the  Queen  of  the  Missions. 
Though  less  pious,  they  proved  no  less  hospitable  than  the  padres.  Senora  Margarita  prepared 
an  ollala  of  tomatoes,  bread  and  some  of  the  small  game  he  had  killed  during  the  day.  Her 
daughter  patted  a  batch  of  tortillas  into  shape.  A  jug  of  aguadiente  (sour  wine)  was  set  on  the 
table,  and  in  less  than  an  hour  the  weary  lieutenant  had  feasted  and  was  ready  to  retire. 

"The  hospitable  old  lady  tumbled  me  into  her  own  couch  which  stood  in  an  angle  of  the  hall," 
he  afterward  wrote.  "At  midnight  I  awoke  and  found  my  own  individual  person  deluged  with  a 
swarm  of  babies.  A  gay  youth  with  a  dripping  link,  nicely  balanced  against  my  boots,  was 
sitting  on  my  legs  with  a  clear  space  before  him,  intently  playing  monte,  to  the  great  detriment 
of  the  purses  of  his  audience. 

"On  glancing  around,  I  beheld  the  lofty  apartment  lighted  by  long  tallow  candles  melted 
against  the  walls,  whose  somber  smoke  clung  in  dense  clouds  around  the  beams.  The  floor  was 
nearly  filled,  at  the  lower  end,  with  groups  of  swarthy  Indians,  sipping  aguadiente  and  playing 
monte.  On  either  side  were  double  rows  of  men  and  women,  moving  in  the  most  bewildering 
mazes  of  the  contra-danza,  keeping  time  to  the  most  inspiriting  music  of  harps  and  guitars;  whilst 
ever  and  anon  some  delighted  youth  would  elevate  his  voice  in  a  shout  of  ecstacy  at  the  success  of 
some  bright-eyed  senorita  in  the  dance:  'Ay,  mi  alma!  Tona  la  bolsa!  Caramba!'  'Go  it,  my 
beauty!  Take  my  purse!  Beautiful!' 

"It  took  me  but  an  instant  to  appreciate  all  this.  And  then,  being  fully  roused  to  my 
wrongs,  I  gave  one  vigorous  spring,  which  sent  monte  man,  candle  and  all  flying  against  the  wall. 
Bounding  to  my  feet,  I  made  a  dash  at  the  patrona,  drank  all  the  licores  on  the  tray,  and,  seizing 
her  around  the  waist,  away  we  spun  through  the  fandango." 

So  passed  "the  Splendid   Idle  Forties." 


60  CONQUEST  OF  CALIFORNIA 

9** 

£  GOLD!! 

Monday,  May  29,  1848,  a  traveler  told  Monterey  of  the  discovery  of  gold  on  the  American 
River. 

"The  men  wondered  and  talked  and  the  women,  too,"  says  Colton,  "but  neither  believed.  The 
sibyls  were  less  skeptical;  they  said  that  the  moon  had,  for  several  nights,  appeared  not  more  than 
a  cable's  length  from  the  earth;  that  a  white  raven  had  been  seen  playing  with  an  infant,  and  that 
an  owl  had  rung  the  church  bell." 

A  week  later  the  Alcalde  sent  a  messenger  to  the  American  Fork  to  find  out  if  the  gold  stories 
were  true. 

Two  weeks  of  excited  speculation.  Then:  "The  messenger  dismounted  in  a  sea  of  upturned 
faces. 

"As  he  drew  forth  the  yellow  lumps  from  his  pockets  and  passed  them  around  among  the 
crowd,  the  doubts  which  had  lingered  till  now  fled.  All  admitted  they  were  gold  except  one  old 
man,  who  still  persisted  they  were  some  Yankee  invention  got  up  to  reconcile  the  people  to  the 
change  of  flag. 

"The  excitement  produced  was  intense  and  many  were  soon  busy  with  their  hasty  prepara- 
tions for  departure  to  the  mines.  The  blacksmith  dropped  his  hammer,  the  carpenter  his  plane, 
the  mason  his  trowel,  the  farmer  his  sickle,  the  baker  his  loaf,  and  the  tapster  his  bottle.  All  were 
off  for  the  mines,  some  on  horses,  some  on  carts,  some  on  crutches,  and  one  went  in  a  litter.  An 
American  woman  who  had  recently  established  a  boarding  house  pulled  up  stakes  before  her 
lodgers  could  pay  their  bills." 

Within  a  month  every  servant  in  Monterey  had  gone  to  the  mines.  "General  Mason,  Lieuten- 
ant Lamman  and  myself  form  a  mess.  We  have  a  house  and  all  the  table  furniture  and  culinary 
apparatus  requisite,  but  our  servants  have  run,"  complains  Colton.  "A  general  of  the  United  States 
army,  the  commander  of  a  man-of-war  and  the  Alcalde  of  Monterey  in  a  smoking  kitchen,  grinding 
coffee,  toasting  herring  and  peeling  onions.  Those  gold  mines  will  upset  all  the  domestic  arrange- 
ments of  society." 

Prices  of  provisions   at  the  mines  were   fabulous.     The  cost  of  100  pounds  of  flour  at  Stockton 


CONQUEST  OF  CALIFORNIA  61 

was  $20 — at  the  mines  it  was  $200.  The  vast  disparity  was  due  to  the  difficulties  of  transpor- 
tation. The  average  wage  of  a  day  laborer,  however,  even  at  Monterey,  was  $12  and  $13. 

August,  1848,  news  came  of  the  treaty  with  Mexico.  It  ushered  in  a  winter  season  of 
unparalleled  gaities  that  reached  their  climax  in  the  ball  at  Consul  Larkin's  house.  That  was 
the  day  before  Lent. 

One  of  the  caballeros,  as  described  by  an  American,  presented  a  picture  not  easily  forgotten: 
"He  wore  a  jacket  of  green  satin  with  Mexican  pesetas  for  buttons,  his  waistcoat  was  of  lemon 
colored  brocade  with  gold  buttons,  the  breeches  of  red  velvet,  the  boots,  fashioned  out  of  buckskin, 
bound  below  the  knees  with  green  silk  ribbons  and  embellished  further  with  tassels  from  which 
hung  little  figures  of  cats  and  dogs  made  of  glass  beads.  His  mantle  was  of  sky-blue  cloth  with 
red  lining,  galooned  with  silver  and  fringed.  He  wore  his  hair  in  three  long  braids." 

Cascarone  throwing  was  at  the  height  of  its  glory  that  night.  "There  were  two  shot  in 
that  company,  in  the  shape  of  goose  eggs  well  filled  with  cologne,  to  which  an  unusual  interest 
attached.  One  of  them  had  been  brought  by  General  Mason,  the  other  by  Dona  Jimeno. 

"Neither  turned  an  eye  but  for  a  moment  from  the  other,  but  in  that  moment  the  Dona  dashed 
to  the  side  of  the  General  and  would  have  crashed  her  egg  on  his  head  had  not  the  blow  been 
adroitly  parried.  The  assailed  now  became  the  assailant. 

"Dona  Jimeno  changed  her  tactics,  stood  on  the  defensive  and  parried.  In  one  of  these 
dextrous  foils  she  dashed  her  egg  on  the  head  of  her  opponent,  who  in  the  same  instant  brought 
his  down  plump  on  hers." 

Then  the  church  bell  tolled  twelve  and  "Lent  came  in  with  her  ashes  to  bury  the  dead." 

February  23,  184Q,  Rev.  S.  H.  Willey,  the  first  Protestant  clergyman  in  California,  landed  in 
Monterey.  "The  following  Sunday,"  he  says,  "I  went  on  shore  at  11  o'clock  to  hold  public 
worship  for  the  first  time  in  Monterey  and  in  California.  Service  was  held  in  the  schoolroom  of 
the  stone  edifice  (Colton  Hall)  used  for  public  purposes. 

"Although,  on  account  of  the  unpropitious  state  of  the  weather,  our  meeting  was  not  numer- 
ously attended,  I  have  not  yet  presided  under  more  interesting  circumstances.  The  text  was  First 
Corinthians  1 :23-4. 


62  CONQUEST  OF  CALIFORNIA 

"The  town  seemed  quiet  in  the  morning  and  no  business  going  on  except  that  the  shops  were 
open,  but  not  apparently,  with  the  expectation  of  entertaining  customers. 

"Those  who  have  been  on  shore  later  in  the  day,  however,  represent  that  gambling  is  going  on 
in  the  usual  places  at  a  rate  scarcely  ever  seen  before." 

Just  before  daybreak  on  Tuesday,  February  25,  184Q,  the  first  steamship  on  the  Pacific 
puffed  into  Monterey  Bay. 

"Some  Indians  living  on  the  coast  saw  her  by  the  light  of  her  fires.  Not  knowing  what  to  do, 
or  what  it  could  be,  they  ran  in  great  alarm  to  the  interior  where  Major  Hill,  their  especial 
friend,  was.  They  reported  that  there  was  a  ship  off  the  coast  on  fire,  and,  what  was  more,  she 
did  not  burn  up;  but  the  strangest  of  all  was  that  she  was  making  rapid  headway  right  against 
the  wind  and  not  a  sail  set." 

The  steamer  turned  all  eyes  to  the  future.  Alcalde  Colton's  note  in  his  diary  on  March  5th 
reads  like  a  prophet's  utterance: 

"Now  all  eyes  are  turned  to  San  Francisco,  with  her  mud  bottoms,  her  sand  hills  and  her 
chill  winds,  which  cut  the  stranger  like  hail  driven  through  the  summer  solstice.  Avarice  may 
erect  its  shanty  there,  but  contentment  and  a  love  of  the  wild  and  beautiful  will  construct  its 
tabernacle  among  the  flowers,  the  waving  shades  and  fragrant  airs  of  Monterey.  And  even  they  who 
drive  the  spaded  drill  in  the  mines,  when  their  yellow  pile  shall  fill  the  measure  of  their  purpose, 
will  come  here  to  sprinkle  these  hills  with  the  mansions  and  cottages  of  ease  and  refinement." 

Looking  toward  the  soul's  future,  Rev.  Willey,  the  young  Presbyterian  minister  strove  to 
organize  a  church  among  the  few  who  were  left  in  Monterey.  "Everything,"  he  said,  "is  slow 
here  except  the  pursuit  of  money." 

At  last,  in  May,  services  were  held  in  the  large  room  of  a  private  house. 

They  continued  holding  meetings  at  irregular  intervals  until  in  1851,  when  Rev.  Willey  was  called 
to  a  larger  congregation  in  the  sand  hills  of  San  Francisco. 

STRUGGLE   FOR   STATEHOOD 

The  Congress  of  1849  adjourned  without  taking  any  action  on  California's  appeal  for  admis- 
sion to  the  Union.  There  was  a  balance  of  power  between  slave  and  free  states  in  the  United 
States  Senate  and  the  admission  of  California  would  inevitably  disturb  that  balance. 


COLTON  HALL 


CONQUEST  OF  CALIFORNIA  63 

Several  attempts  were  made  by  the  Californians  to  organize  a  State  government  of  their  own. 
Finally,  late  in  the  summer,  General  Riley,  Military  Governor  of  the  Territory,  issued  a  procla- 
mation calling  for  the  election  of  delegates  to  a  Convention  to  draw  up  a  Constitution  of  California. 

Following  his  suggestion,  elections  of  delegates  to  a  Constitutional  Convention  were  held  in 
all  parts  of  the  Territory.  The  chosen  representatives  met  in  Colton  Hall,  September  3,  1819. 
Eight  were  Californians  (i.  e.,  natives  of  the  Territory),  the  rest  Gringos. 

"When  they  had  effected  a  temporary  organization,"  writes  Rev.  Willey,  "impressed  with 
the  serious  nature  of  the  task  they  were  about  to  undertake,  they  asked  me  to  open  the  session 
with  prayer,  which  I  did. 

"I  do  not  know  that  any  of  these  young  men  were  professedly  religious,  but  on  the  second 
day,  when  they  had  effected  a  permanent  organization,  they  sent  a  committee  to  Padre  Ramirez 
and  myself,  the  resident  clergymen  of  Monterey,  asking  us  to  open  the  convention  with  prayer 
each  day,  which  we  did  during  the  session." 

Walter  Semple,  formerly  assistant  editor  of  the  Californian,  was  elected  President.  September 
4th  the  invocation  was  followed  by  the  newly  elected  President's  address,  setting  forth  the  objects 
.oi  the  Convention: 

**  "Fellow  citizens  of  the  House  of  Delegates  of  California:  We  are  now,  fellow  citizens, 
occupying  a  position  to  which  all  eyes  are  turned.  The  eyes  not  only  of  our  sister  and  parent 
states  are  upon  us,  but  the  eyes  of  all  Europe  are  now  on  California.  You  are  called  upon  by 
your  fellow  citizens  to  exert  all  your  influence  and  power  to  secure  to  them  all  the  blessings  that 
a  good  government  can  bestow  on  a  free  people.  It  is  important,  then,  that  in  your  proceedings 
you  should  use  all  possible  care,  discretion  and  judgment;  and  especially  that  a  spirit  of  compro- 
mise should  prevail  in  all  your  deliberations. 

"It  is  to  be  hoped  that  every  feeling  of  harmony  will  be  cherished  to  the  utmost  in  this  Con- 
vention. By  this  course,  fellow  citizens,  I  am  satisfied  that  we  can  prove  to  the  world  that  Cali- 
fornia has  not  been  settled  by  unintelligent  and  unlettered  men.  *  *  * 

"Let  us  then  go  onward  and  upward,  and  let  our  motto  be:  'Justice,  Industry  and  Economy'." 

The  Convention  was  confronted  at  the  outset  by  a  very  serious  difficulty.  Eight  of  the  dele- 
gates were  Californians  and  neither  spoke  nor  understood  English. 


64  CONQUEST  OF  CALIFORNIA 

W.  E.  P.  Hartiiell,  the  pioneer  Monterey  business  man,  was  elected  interpreter.  The  native 
delegates  were  seated  around  a  table  with  Hartnell  at  the  head  and  General  Vallejo,  foremost 
friend  of  the  Americans,  at  his  right. 

"General  Vallejo's  bodily  presence  and  bearing  were  most  distinguished.  He  wore  no  mous- 
tache upon  a  finely  cut  upper  lip,  but  the  cheeks  were  fringed  with  side  whiskers,  black  and 
curly  as  his  hair.  His  forehead  was  broad  and  high,  the  chin  rounded  and  dimpled,  the  eyes  less 
keen  than  Alvarado's,  but  crowned  with  arching  brows.  He  was,  in  fine,  the  typical  hidalgo  of 
high  degree,  a  trifle  pompous  for  so  young  a  man,  but  a  charming  talker,  full  of  anecdote  and  well 
informed  upon  many  subjects." 

Many   amusing  debates   enlivened  the   Convention  sessions: 

"A  section  being  before  the  Convention  declaring  that  every  citizen  arrested  for  a  criminal 
^••»-  offense  should  be  tried  by  a  jury  of  his  peers,  a  member,  unfamiliar  with  such  technical  terms, 
moved  to  strike  out  the  word  'peers.'  'I  don't  like  that  word  "peers",'  said  he;  'it  ain't  repub- 
lican. I'd  like  to  know  what  we  want  with  peers  in  this  country;  we're  not  a  monarchy  and 
we've  got  no  House  of  Parliament.  I  vote  for  no  such  law.'  " 

After  two  weeks'  deliberation,  when  the  end  of  their  labor  seemed  yet  far  distant,  the  question 
ajf    of  pay  was  discussed.     Finally  the  per  diem  allowance  of  the  officers  of  the  Convention  was  fixed  at 
^      •  the  following  rate:  "Secretary,  $28;  Assistant  Secretary,  $23;  Engrossing  Clerk,  $23;  Sergeant  at 
^   Arms,  $22;  Copying  Clerk,  $18;  Interpreter,  $28;   Interpreter's  Clerk,  $21;  Chaplain,  $16;   Door- 
y        '  keeper,  $12,  and  Page,  $4.     High  as  these  prices  are,  they  were  reasonable  for  their  time." 
/?  In  all  serious  discussions,  the  delegates  fell  into   three   groups.      First,   there   were   the    eight 

Californians,  trying  hard  to  comprehend  proceedings  that  were  entirely  foreign,  and  they  felt  more 
or  less  hostile  to  them.  Second,  the  Northerners,  a  decided  majority  of  the  American  contingent, 
determined  to  keep  the  State  free  from  slavery.  Third,  an  equally  determined  and  even  more  elo- 
quent Southern  minority,  bent  on  saving  at  least  part  of  California  for  slavery. 

Since  gold  mining  was  then  the  principal  occupation  in  California,  even  the  Southern  delegates 
were  willing  to  prohibit  slavery  for  the  time  being. 

The  resolution  of  Mr.  McCarver,  an  Oregonian,  making  California  a  free  State,  passed 
unanimously,  September  ip. 


CONQUEST  OF  CALIFORNIA  65 

The  Southern  minority  felt  sure  that  Congress  would  never  admit  so  large  a  State  and  that, 
when  the  division  came,  they  could  easily  introduce  slavery  into  the  southern  half  and  thus  regain 
the  Senatorial  balance. 

California  was  not  divided;  the  equality  of  Senatorial  power  was  destroyed,  and  compromise  in 
slave  questions  was  no  longer  possible.  Thus  had  the  new  Territory,  neglected  by  Congress  be- 
cause of  slavery,  by  passing  the  McCarver  motion,  made  a  war  over  slavery  almost  inevitable. 

September  21,  the  Convention  voted  $1,000  to  print  100  copies  in  English  and  250  in  Spanish 
of  a  stenographic  report  of  the  proceedings.  Some  members,  on  account  of  the  hasty  and  ill- 
prepared  debate,  did  not  want  any  public  report  made  lest  it  bring  discredit  upon  the  Convention. 

The  Constitution  provided  for  public  grammar  schools.  A  motion  to  found  a  State  college  and 
thus  do  away  with  the  necessity  of  sending  boys  to  Hawaii  or  the  Atlantic  States,  was  lost.  The 
idea,  however,  materialized  a  few  years  later  as  the  College  of  California. 

After  six  weeks  of  hard  work,  on  Saturday,  October  13,  1849,  the  Constitution  was  completed 
and  $500  paid  to  Mr.  Hamilton  for  enrolling  it  on  parchment. 

Before  its  adjournment,  the  Convention  had  yielded  to  the  blandishments  of  San  Jose  politi- 
cians and  voted  to  move  the  capital  from  Monterey  to  San  Jose. 

While  the  Constitutional  Convention  was  in  session  and  Monterey  was  in  the  zenith  of  her  glory, 
Mr.  Trescony,  an  Italian,  bought  the  old  adobe  home  of  Juan  Montenegro,  added  another  wing  to 
it  and  opened  there  the  Washington  Hotel.* 

He  paid  his  stone  masons  $20  a  day  and  charged  his  guests  $10  a  day,  up.  The  hotel  parlors 
were  the  scene  of  the  gayest  and  most  fashionable  balls,  to  attend  which,  the  young  men  and  even 
the  fair  senoritas  often  came  fifty  miles  on  horseback  or  in  slow  ox-carts. 

AMERICAN    AYUNTAMIENTOS 

In  Colton  Hall,  January  2,  1850,  at  1  p.  m.,  the  Ayuntamiento  held  its  first  regular  meeting 
since  the  American  conquest.  P.  A.  Roach  had  been  elected  Alcalde  and  presided  at  the  meeting. 
Committees  on  Roads  and  Bridges,  Laws  and  Ordinances  and  Ways  and  Means  were  appointed. 

The  following  Monday  afternoon,  the  Committee  on  Ways  and  Means  submitted  a  list  of  license 

•The  old  Washington  Hotel  was  torn  down  hi  the  Fall  of  1913  to  make  room  for  modern  buildings.     It  had  not 
been  used  as  a  hotel  in  many  years. 


66  CONQUEST  OF  CALIFORNIA 

rates  for  all  sorts  of  businesses  and  for  dogs.  The  Ayuntamiento  agreed  that  "all  dogs  not  licensed 
were  to  be  killed  at  public  expense." 

The  next  week,  the  Ayuntamiento  was  besieged  by  pleas  for  a  city  hospital.  Lack  of  funds 
made  them  deaf. 

Some  queer  ordinances  were  passed  at  that  meeting: 

"Section  1.     Five  dollars'  fine  for  each  cow,  etc.,  killed  in  town  in  an  open  place. 

"Sec.  2.     Five  dollars'  fine  for  throwing  offal  on  the  streets. 

"Sec.  3.  Wells,  pits,  etc.,  must  be  protected  by  a  fence  or  they  will  be  filled  up  at  the  owner's 
expense. 

"Sec.  4.  All  persons  shall,  on  dark  nights,  expose  a  lantern  (containing  a  light)  in  some  con- 
spicuous place  on  their  houses  or  dwellings  or  be  liable  to  a  fine  of  50c  for  the  first  omission,  one 
dollar  for  the  second,  and  for  any  other  omissions  they  shall  be  liable  to  such  penalties  as  the 
Alcalde  may,  in  his  discretion,  deem  fit." 

The  Ayuntamiento  held  regular  weekly  meetings  and  occasionally  a  special  meeting.  The  reg- 
ular sessions  were  chiefly  spent  in  granting  town,  wood  and  garden  lots.  Once  they  had  to  make 
out  a  new  deed  because  the  original  one  had  been  eaten  up  by  rats. 

On  February  7,  a  committee  of  five  was  sent  to  "offer  to  the  Legislature  of  California  the  use 
of  their  public  buildings  for  a  period  of  five  years  from  the  passage  of  this  ordinance,  for  its  future 
meetings,  free  of  charge."  Colton  Hall  was  too  small  and  the  offer  was  rejected. 

Two  weeks  later,  they  received  a  letter  from  Governor  Burnett,  saying  that  government  lands 
could  not  be  granted  by  the  Ayuntamiento. 

To  make  sure  that  that  body  would  not  exceed  its  authority  in  other  matters,  on  March  23, 
Governor  Burnett  sent  a  letter  to  David  Spence,  clearly  defining  its  powers: 

"The  Ayuntamiento,  under  the  sub-prefects  and  through  them  to  the  prefects  and  Governor, 
shall  have  charge  of  the  police,  health,  comfort,  ornament,  order  and  security  of  their  respective 
jurisdictions." 

In  April,  the  Ayuntamiento  changed  its  name  to  Common  Council  and  offered  the  use  of  Colton 
Hall  to  the  county  officers.  The  offer  was  accepted,  thus  making  Monterey  the  county  seat  of  Mon- 
terey County. 


AMERICAN  MONTEREY  67 

Money  was  constantly  being  appropriated  to  repair  the  public  buildings,  improve  the  streets,  etc. 
In  June,  the  question  of  delinquent  taxes  became  serious. 

Nevertheless,  $300  was  appropriated  for  the  first  Fourth  of  July  celebration  ever  held  in  Cali- 
fornia. An  elaborate  program  was  prepared. 

In  the  fall,  a  company  'of  disbanded  soldiers  came  to  Monterey.  To  pass  away  the  time,  they 
gave  a  couple  of  theatrical  performances  in  an  old  saloon  belonging  to  John  A.  Swan.  These  were 
purely  private  affairs,  but  so  great  was  their  success  that  the  soldiers  agreed  to  give  a  public  per- 
formance. "They  induced  Jack  to  fix  seats,  stage  and  scenery  in  the  old  adobe.  The  bills  were 
got  out  in  due  form,  posters  printed  with  a  blacking  pot  and  programmes  written  announcing  'Put- 
nam' or  'The  Lion's  Son  of  '76'  as  the  first  piece  to  be  played." 

It  was  only  an  experiment.  Never  before  in  California  had  a  play  been  given  for  which  admis- 
sion was  charged.  The  "box-office"  receipts  were  enormous. 

AMERICAN  MONTEREY 

September  9,  1850,  Congress  admitted  California  to  the  Union  and  Monterey  became  really  an 
j(  American  county  seat. 
\  -  AMBITIOUS   AYUNTAMIENTOS 

What  an  uncommon  Common  Council  the  men  of  1850  hoped  to  be!  They  planned  that  Mon- 
terey should  have  a  public  market  house,  a  city  physician,  fine,  clean  streets,  improved  drainage 
system,  a  new  jail,  a  big,  new  wharf  and  the  incorporation  of  the  city. 

In  reality,  they  improved  the  streets  and  succeeded  in  having  the  Legislature  pass  a  bill  to  in- 
corporate the  city  of  Monterey.  It  was  signed  in  April,  1851.  The  city  was  to  be  governed  by  a 
Mayor,  nine  Aldermen,  an  Assessor  and  a  Marshal.  The  city  limits,  until  all  the  land  could  be 
surveyed,  were  fixed  at  a  radius  of  one  mile  from  the  church. 

The  city  was  specifically  given  authority  to  "tax,  license  and  regulate  the  selling  of  liquor  and 
to  suppress  houses  of  ill  fame." 

The  theater  had  furnished  a  new  source  of  revenue  in  the  shape  of  a  license,  but  delinquent 
taxes  continued  to  be  a  source  of  annoyance. 

Knowing  the  Council  was  short  of  money,  some  Catholics  tried  to  buy  Colton  Hall  for  use  as 


68  AMERICAN  MONTEREY 

a  young  ladies'  seminary.     The  people  of  the  city  sent  in  a  petition  against  selling  it  and  the  plan 
fell  through,  v 

In  spite  of  the  pressing  need  of  funds,  a  bill  was  passed  reducing  the  taxes  of  widows  and 
orphans  to  one-half  the  usual  rate. 

No  other  bills  of  interest  were  passed,  though  the  Council  continued  to  hold  regular  meetings 
through  1851-2-3. 

May  11,  1853,  Monterey's  charter  was  amended  and  the  control  of  the  town  vested  in  three 
trustees. 

The  President  of  the  Board  was  D.  R.  Ashley,  attorney  for  David  P.  Jacks,  a  Scotchman, 
famous  as  one  of  the  most  skilful  acquirers  of  land  in  California.  Mr.  Ashley  was  also  attorney 
for  the  city  of  Monterey  and  had  successfully  defended  the  city's  claim  to  its  pueblo  lands  before 
the  U.  S.  Land  Commission. 

His  bill  of  $750  was  due  January  22,  1856,  but  owing  to  the  city's  failure  to  collect  taxes,  was 
not  paid  till  1859. 

As  early  as  December,  1851,  the  Common  Council  had  attempted  to  raise  money  on  the  pueblo 
or  town  lands.  In  1853,  a  small  portion  of  them  was  ordered  sold  at  auction,  but  no  record  of  the 
sale  or  of  any  money  derived  therefrom  is  to  be  found  in  their  minutes. 

January  24,  1859,  the  Trustees  found  that,  at  ten  per  cent  interest,  Attorney  Ashley's  bill 
would  be  $991-50  by  February  9-  They  accordingly  ordered  that  the  pueblo  lands,  or  as  much 
thereof  as  was  necessary  to  pay  the  bill,  should  be  sold  by  the  sheriff  at  public  auction  on  February 
9,  between  9  A.  M.  and  5  P.  M. 

All  the  pueblo  lands  were  sold  to  Attorney  Ashley  and  David  Jacks,  the  only  bidders,  for 
$1,002.50.  Mr.  Ashley's  bill  was  paid  out  of  that  sum.  When  other  expenses  incident  to  the  sale 
were  paid,  there  was  four  dollars  with  which  to  pay  other  bills.* 

A    MECCA    OF    ARTISTS 

Meanwhile,  oblivious  of  auctions  and  land  suits,  poets  and  artists  were  coming  to  Monterey.  In 
1849,  Bayard  Taylor  journeyed  thither. 

V  ^  "I  took  my  meals,"  he  says,  "at  the  Fonda  de  la  Union,  just  across  the  street.     It  was  an  old, 

+1^    «,b          *From  Town  Council  Minute  Book. 


AMERICAN  MONTEREY  69 

smoky  place,  not  uncomfortably  clean,  with  a  billiard  room  and  two  small  rooms  adjoining  where 
the  owner,  a  sallow  Mexican,  with  his  Indian  cook  and  muchacho  entertained  his  customers. 

"The  place  was  frequented  by  a  number  of  the  members  and  clerks  of  the  Convention,  by  all 
rambling  Americans  or  Californians  who  happened  to  be  in  Monterey  and  occasionally  a  seaman  or 
two  from  the  ships  in  the  harbor. 

"The  charges  were  usually  one  dollar  a  meal,  for  which  we  were  furnished  with  an  olla  of 
boiled  beef,  cucumbers  and  corn,  an  asado  of  beef  and  red  peppers,  a  guisado  of  beef  and  pota- 
toes and  two  or  three  cups  of  execrable  coffee.  At  the  time  of  my  arrival,  it  was  the  only  restaurant 
in  the  place  and  reaped  such  a  harvest  of  pesos  that  others  were  not  long  in  starting  up. 

"Flocks  of  ravens  croak  from  the  tiled  roofs  and  cluster  on  the  long  adobe  walls;  magpies  chat- 
ter in  the  clumps  of  gnarled  oak  on  the  hills  and,  as  you  pass  through  the  forest,  hares  start  up 
from  their  coverts  under  the  bearded  pines.  The  quantity  of  blackbirds  about  the  place  is  aston- 
ishing. In  the  mornings,  they  wheel  in  squadrons  about  every  house  top  and  fill  the  air  with  their 
twitter. 

"There  is  no  continuous  roar  of  the  plunging  waves  as  on  the  Atlantic  seaboard;  the  slow, 
regular  swells,  quiet  pulsations  of  the  great  Pacific's  heart,  roll  inward  in  unbroken  lines  and  fall 
with  single  grand  crashes  with  intervals  of  dead  silence  between.  They  may  be  heard  through  the 
day,  if  one  listens,  like  the  solemn  undertone  to  all  the  shallow  noises  of  the  town;  but  at  mid- 
night, when  all  else  is  still,  those  successive  shocks  fall  upon  the  ear  with  a  sensation  of  inexpres- 
sible solemnity. 

"All  the  air,  from  the  pine  forests  to  the  sea,  is  filled  with  a  light  tremor  and  the  intermitting 
beats  of  sound  are  strong  enough  to  jar  a  delicate  ear.  Their  constant  repetition  at  last  produces 
a  feeling  something  like  terror.  A  spirit  worn  and  weakened  by  some  scathing  sorrow  could  scarcely 
bear  the  reverberations." 

"Last  Sunday  I  went  to  church.  Near  the  door  hung  opposite  pictures  of  heaven  and 
hell,  the  former  a  sort  of  pyramid  inhabited  by  straight,  white  figures,  with  an  aspect  of  sol- 
emn distress,  the  latter  enclosed  in  the  extended  jaws  of  a  dragon  swarming  with  devils,  who 
tormented  their  victims  with  spears  and  pitchforks. 

"The  church  music  was  furnished  by  a  diminutive  parlor  organ  and  consisted  of  a  choice  list 


70  AMERICAN  MONTEREY 

of  polkas,  waltzes  and  fandango  airs.  Padre  Ramirez  preached  an  excellent  sermon,  recommend- 
ing his  Catholic  flock  to  follow  the  example  of  the  Protestants,  who,  he  said,  were  more  truly  pious 
than  they  and  did  much  more  for  the  welfare  of  their  church. 

"I  noticed  that,  during  the  sermon,  several  of  the  Californians  disappeared  through  a  small 
door  at  the  end  of  the  gallery.  Following  them,  out  of  curiosity,  I  found  them  all  seated  on  the 
belfry  and  along  the  coping  of  the  front,  composedly  smoking  their  cigars." 

RUINS    OF   SAN    CARLOS 

What  of  that  other  church,  five  miles  away  in  Carmelo  Valley?  Bartlett  visited  it  while  Bay- 
ard  Taylor  was  in  Monterey  and  left  a  vivid  picture  of  the  erstwhile  queen  of  missions. 

"The  mission  establishment,  which  consists  of  a  church  and  the  usual  accompaniment  of  a  large 
enclosure  with  ranges  of  small  buildings,  stands  upon  a  little  elevation  between  the  hills  and  the 
sea,  from  which  it  is  distant  only  a  few  hundred  yards.  The  church,  built  of  stone,  has  two 
towers  and  six  bells ;  its  walls  are  very  thick,  with  an  arched  roof,  and  supported  by  heavy  but- 
tresses. The  towers,  as  usual,  differ.  The  adobe  buildings  near  were  all  in  a  state  of  ruin  and 
tenantless ;  not  a  human  being  was  to  be  seen,  while  the  rank  grass  and  weeds  which  monopolized  the 
ground  showed  that  even  curiosity  did  not  often  tempt  visitors  to  its  deserted  precincts.  The  cor- 
nice of  one  corner  had  fallen  and  weeds  has  already  taken  root  among  its  opening  crevices.  The 
remains  of  an  orchard  and  vineyard  are  still  near,  in  a  decaying  state." 

Small  wonder  that  the  old  church  had  few  visitors.  Gambling  dens  and  houses  of  ill  fame, 
driven  by  law  from  Monterey,  found  hiding  places  amid  the  windings  of  the  road  to  Carmel. 

Here  Mexicans  and  Indians  and  Gringos  gathered  to  gamble  and  revel — and  murder,  till  folk 
said  Satan  haunted  that  highway  and  were  loath  to  travel  it  by  night. 

They  tell  a  story  of  one  young  man  who  set  out,  late  at  night,  to  drive  a  nail  in  the  wall  of 
Mission  San  Carlos.  He  reached  the  church  safely  and  drove  the  nail  into  the  wall.  When  he 
turned  to  hasten  back  to  his  friends,  something  held  him  back.  "Madre  de  Dios,  'tis  Satan." 

Next  morning  they  found  his  dead  body  standing  beside  the  church.  One  corner  of  his  scrape 
was  fastened  to  the  wall  by  the  very  nail  he  had  driven  and  that  had  kept  him  from  falling. 

"And  truly,"  said  the  mothers,  warning  their  sons,  "  'twas  Satan  that  did  it,  for  the  poor  man 
died  without  confessing,  and  who  but  Satan  can  have  his  soul  now?" 


INTERIOR  OF  RUINED  MISSION  SAN  CARLOS 


AMERICAN  MONTEREY  71 

Even  by  day,  one  heard  sounds  of  babies  crying  and  hens  with  hoofs  appeared,  followed  by 
broods  of  chicks  with  horns  or  tail. 

But  sometimes  honest  men  had  to  pass  that  way  and  each  one  left  a  rude  cross  on  a  tree  by  the 
road,  till  El  Camino  Real  became  a  veritable  Avenue  of  Crosses. 

Yet,  "God  was  mindful  of  His  own,"  though  Satan  walked  boldly  up  and  down  the  King's 
Highway.  Two  brothers  who  found  amusement  in  shooting  the  images  off  the  altars  of  the  mission, 
stricken  by  His  wrath,  went  raving  mad  in  the  midst  of  their  unholy  target  practice  and,  turning 
their  guns  on  each  other,  died  unconfessed. 

Once  in  a  while,  a  few  Indians  would  creep  down  from  the  hills  to  hold  a  sort  of  mass  in  the 
sacristy  of  the  mission.  On  San  Carlos  Day  they  always  came.  No  one  disturbed  them;  only  a 
few  cared  enough  to  even  know  they  came. 

•^  SLEEPY    HOLLOW    OF   THE    PACIFIC 

>^ '         Indeed,  during  the  first  ten  years  of  the  town's  existence,  the  Montereyans  seem  to  have  been 
indifferent  to  everything,  even  their  own  wellbeing. 

In  I860,  the  Trustees  passed  an  ordinance  making  all  people  allowing  hogs  to  run  in  the 
streets  liable  to  a  fifty-dollar  fine.  The  law  was  sorely  needed  but  poorly  enforced.  The  Board  met 
only  once  a  year. 

January  23,  1865,  the  Trustees  began  their  fight  to  prove  that  the  sale  of  the  pueblo  lands  to 
David  Jacks  and  D.  R.  Ashley  had  been  illegal.  In  1866,  Mr.  Jacks  had  a  bill  passed  in  the  Leg- 
islature legalizing  the  sale.  Then  the  matter  was  dropped. 

In  1869,  at  the  solicitation  of  Mr.  Jacks  and  a  few  others,  the  Legislature  granted  to  the  city 
of  Monterey  perpetual  title  to  her  entire  water  front,  exempt  from  all  judgments  against  the  city, 
to  be  controlled  by  the  Trustees. 

They  immediately  leased  a  large  portion  of  it  to  Mr.  Jacks  for  one  dollar  per  year,  on  condition 
that  he  build  a  new  wharf. 

That  same  year,  an  attempt  was  made  to  reincorporate.  It  failed.  For  nine  years  there  were 
no  meetings  of  the  Board  of  Trustees  and  no  recorded  elections.  Monterey  was  civically  dead,  yet 
life  there  was  by  no  means  dull. 

Every  Sunday  afternoon  there  were  bear  and   bull   fights   at   the   Pacific    Hotel   on    Alvarado 


72  AMERICAN  MONTEREY 

Street.  Every  night  there  was  a  fandango  at  some  house.  Almost  every  day  some  one  was  giving 
a  picnic.  Hunting  parties  afforded  amusement  to  some  and  gambling  to  others;  while  an  occasional 
murder  added  spice  to  the  whole. 

There  was  no  longer  need  for  the  gamblers  to  hide  on  El  Camino  Real ;  they  plied  their  trade 
freely  and  openly  in  Monterey. 

Sometimes  a  man  was  arrested  for  a  murder  committed  in  a  drunken  quarrel  and,  especially  if 
he  were  a  half-breed  Indian  and  the  victim  a  Gringo,  he  was  hanged  with  little  ceremony  to  the 
portico  of  Colton  Hall. 

The  public  school  met  in  the  old  quartel  in  those  days.     Once  it  happened  that  a  man  was 
to  be  hanged  at  recess.     All  the  children  scampered  over  to  Colton  Hall  to  see  the  fun.     Not  t 
the  criminal  was  safely  dangling  did  the  principal    call   them   back   to   their    studies,   though   the 
recess  period  was  long  past. 

At  this  epoch,  the  majority  of  the  Montereyans  were  Mexicans.  They  hated  the  church  be- 
cause it  attempted  to  prevent  at  least  a  part  of  their  licentiousness.  They  hated  the  priests  because 
they  were  Spaniards.  One  evening,  they  burnt  the  priest  in  effigy.  Knowing  this  was  a  prelude  to 
some  trouble,  he  fled  on  horseback. 

Young  Vallejo  led  a  band  of  caballeros  to  the  rectory.  Finding  their  prey  had  escaped,  they 
spurred  their  horses  in  pursuit  and  even  fired  several  shots.  Only  the  darkness,  which  spoiled  their 
aim,  saved  the  priest's  life. 

So  sleepy  had  the  old  capital  become,  that  when  an  election  was  held,  November  6,  1872,  for 
the  purpose  of  changing  the  county  seat,  she  offered  no  opposition.  It  was  moved  to  Salinas,  where 
it  still  remains. 

In  1873,  Monterey  again  tried  to  reincorporate.  She  failed  and  no  recorded  Trustees'  meeting 
was  held  until  1877. 

In  April,  1874,  David  Jacks  and  a  few  other  Monterey  business  men  commenced  a  narrow- 
gauge  railroad  from  Monterey  to  Salinas.  It  was  completed  in  October.  Only  one  train  a  day  was 
run,  yet  it  seemed  to  rouse  the  sleeping  city  from  her  dreams. 

October  16,  1877,  the  Board  of  Trustees  met  and  reopened  the  pueblo  lands  case.  They  agreed 
with  Robert  S.  Forbes  that  if  he  would  prosecute  a  suit  against  Mr.  Jacks  and  bear  all  the  ex- 
pense, he  should  have  one-half  of  all  lands  recovered. 


AMERICAN  MONTEREY  73 

In  November,  1891,  a  patent  was  issued  by  the  United  States  to  the  city  of  Monterey,  fixing 
the  boundaries  of  the  lands. 

David  Jacks  appealed  the  case  to  the  Superior  Court  and  won.  The  city  appealed  it  to  the 
Supreme  Court.  Mr.  Jacks  won.  That  was  the  end. 

Mexican  land  grants  had  been  made  with  a  vagueness  which  rendered  them  valueless.  Such 
indefinite  boundaries  as  oak  trees  and  wells  sufficed  before  the  days  of  surveyors.  But  of  what 
use  were  they  when  the  oak  tree  had  been  cut  down  and  the  well  filled  up?  So  the  shrewd  Scotch- 
man kept  many,  many  acres  besides  the  original  pueblo  lands  because  no  one  could  prove  title  to 
them. 

ARTISTS   AGAIN 

In  1879,  Robert  Louis  Stevenson  came  to  California  that  he  might  earn  money  enough  to  marry 
Fanny  Osborne.  Fate  seemed  to  be  against  the  young  man  when  Jules  Simoneau,  the  restaurateur 
famous  as  the  friend  of  struggling  artists,  found  him  by  the  roadside  half  unconscious  from  hunger. 
Mr.  Simoneau  took  him  home,  nursed  him  back  to  life  and  fed  him  more  than  once  when  his  purse 
was  as  empty  as  his  stomach. 

Stevenson  never  forgot  his  friend  and  has  made  his  (Simoneau's)  name  immortal  by  his  praises. 

In  spite  of  these  bitter  experiences,  Stevenson's  letters  to  his  friend,  W.  Henly,  are  full  of  the 
love  of  Monterey.  "If  you  could  only  be  suddenly  dropped  at  the  station,"  he  writes,  "you  would 
then  comfortably  enter  Walter's  wagon  (the  sun  has  just  gone  down,  the  moon  beginning  to  throw 
shadows,  you  hear  the  surf  rolling  and  smell  the  sea,  the  pines).  That  shall  deposit  you  at  San- 
chez' saloon,  where  we  take  a  drink.  You  are  introduced  to  Bronson,  the  local  editor  ('I  have  no 
brain  music,  you  see,'  he  says,  'I'm  a  mechanic,'  but  he  is  a  nice  fellow). 

"Meanwhile  I  go  to  the  P.  O.  for  my  mail;  thence  we  walk  up  Alvarado  Street  together,  you 
now  floundering  in  the  sand,  now  merrily  stumping  on  the  wooden  sidewalks.  I  call  at  Hadsell's 
for  my  paper;  at  length,  behold  us  installed  in  Simoneau's  little  whitewashed  back  room,  round  a 
dirty  tablecloth,  with  Francois,  the  barber,  perhaps  an  Italian  fisherman,  perhaps  Augustin  Dutra 
and  Simoneau  himself.  Simoneau,  Francois  and^  myself  are  the  three  sure  cards,  the  others  mere 
waifs. 

"Then  home  to  my  great,  airy  rooms  with  five  windows  opening  on  a  balcony;  I  sleep  on  the 


74  AMERICAN  MONTEREY 

floor  in  my  camp  blankets;  you  instal  yourself  abed.  In  the  morning,  coffee  with  the  little  doctor 
and  his  little  wife.  We  hire  a  wagon  and  make  a  day  of  it." 

Sixteen  years  later,  looking  back  on  those  days,   Stevenson  wrote: 

"The  ancient  capital  of  California  faces  across  the  bay,  while  the  Pacific  Ocean,  though  hid- 
den by  low  hills  and  forest,  bombards  her  left  flank  and  rear  with  never-dying  surf.  In  front  of 
the  town,  the  long  line  of  sea  beach  trends  north  and  northwest  and  then  westward  to  enclose  the 
bay.  The  waves  which  lap  so  quietly  about  the  jetties  of  Monterey  grow  louder  and  larger  in  the 
distance ;  you  can  see  the  breakers  leaping  high  and  white  by  day ;  at  night,  the  outline  of  the  shore 
is  traced  in  transparent  silver  by  the  moonlight  and  the  flying  foam ;  and  from  all  around,  even  in 
quiet  weather,  the  low,  distant,  thrilling  roar  of  the  Pacific  Ocean  hangs  over  the  adjacent  country 
like  smoke  over  a  battle. 

"These  long  beaches  are  enticing  to  an  idle  man.  It  would  be  hard  to  find  a  walk  more  soli- 
tary and  at  the  same  time  more  exciting  to  the  mind.  Crowds  of  ducks  and  sea  gulls  hover  over 
the  sea.  Sandpipers  trot  in  and  out  by  troops  after  the  retiring  waves,  trilling  together  in  a  chorus 
of  infinitesimal  song.  Strange  sea  tangles,  new  to  the  European  eye,  the  bones  of  whales  and  some- 
times a  whole  whale's  carcass,  white  with  carrion  gulls  and  poisoning  the  air,  lie  scattered  here 
and  there  along  the  sands. 

"The  waves  come  in  slowly,  vast  and  green,  and  curve  their  translucent  necks  and  burst  with  a 
surprising  uproar,  that  runs,  waxing  and  waning,  up  and  down  the  long  keyboard  of  the  coast.  The 
foam  of  these  great  ruins  mounts  in  an  instant  to  the  ridge  of  the  sand  glacis,  swiftly  fleets  back 
again  and  is  met  and  buried  by  the  next  breaker.  On  no  other  coast  that  I  know,  shall  you  enjoy 
in  calm,  sunny  weather  such  a  spectacle  of  ocean's  greatness,  such  beauty  of  changing  color  or  such 
degrees  of  thunder  in  the  sound. 

"The  town,  when  I  was  there,  was  a  place  of  two  or  three  streets,  economically  paved  with  sea 
sand  and  two  or  three  lanes  which  were  water  courses  in  the  rainy  season  and  were,  at  all  times, 
rent  up  by  fissures  four  or  five  feet  deep.  There  were  no  street  lights.  Short  sections  of  wooden 
sidewalk  only  added  to  the  dangers  of  the  night,  for  they  were  often  high  above  the  level  of  the 
roadway,  and  no  one  could  tell  where  they  would  be  likely  to  begin  or  end.  The  houses  were,  for 
the  most  part,  built  of  adobe,  many  of  them  old  for  so  new  a  century,  some  of  very  elegant  propor- 
tions, with  low,  spacious,  shapely  rooms,  and  walls  so  thick  that  the  heat  of  summer  never  dried 


ALVARADO  STREET— IN  STODDARD'S  TIME 


AMERICAN  MONTEREY  75 

them  to  the  heart.  At  the  approach  of  the  rainy  season,  a  deathlike  chill  and  a  graveyard  smell 
began  to  hang  about  the  lower  floors. 

"There  was  no  activity  except  in  and  around  the  saloons,  where  people  sat  almost  all  day  long 
playing  cards.  The  smallest  excursion  was  made  on  horseback.  You  would  scarcely  ever  see  the 
main  street  without  two  or  three  horses  tied  to  posts,  and  making  a  fine  figure  with  their  Mexican 
housings.  In  Monterey  you  saw  true  vaquero  riding,  men  always  at  the  hand  gallop  up  hill  and 
down  dale,  and  around  the  sharpest  corner,  urging  their  horses  with  cries  and  gesticulations  and 
the  cruel  rotary  spurs ;  checking  them  dead  with  a  touch  or  wheeling  them  right  about  face  within  a 
square  yard. 

"From  the  hilltop  above  Monterey,  the  scene  is  often  noble,  though  it  is  always  sad.  The 
upper  air  is  still  bright  with  sunlight;  a  glow  still  rests  upon  the  Gabilans  peak;  but  the  fogs  are 
in  possession  of  the  lower  levels ;  they  crawl  in  scarfs  along  the  sand  hills ;  they  float,  a  little 
higher,  in  clouds  of  gigantic  size  and  of  a  weird  configuration ;  to  the  south  where  they  have  struck 
the  seaward  shoulder  of  the  mountains  of  Santa  Lucia,  they  double  back  and  spire  up  skyward  like 
smoke.  Where  their  shadow  touches,  color  dies  out  of  the  world.  The  air  grows  chill  and  deadly 
as  they  advance. 

"Inshore  a  tract  of  sand  hills  borders  on  the  beach.  Here  and  there  a  lagoon,  more  or  less 
brackish,  attracts  the  birds  and  hunters.  A  rough,  spotty  undergrowth  partially  hides  the  sand. 
The  crouching,  hardy  live-oaks  flourish  singly  or  in  thickets,  the  kind  of  wood  for  murderers  to 
crawl  among,  and  here  and  there  the  skirts  of  the  forest  extend  downward  from  the  hills  with  a 
floor  of  turf  and  long  aisles  of  pine  trees  hung  with  Spaniard's  Beard. 

"These  pitch  pines  of  Monterey  are,  with  the  single  exception  of  the  Monterey  cypresses,  the 
most  fantastic  of  forest  trees.  No  words  can  give  an  idea  of  the  contortion  of  their  growth ;  they 
might  figure  without  change  in  a  circle  of  the  nether  hell  as  Dante  pictured  it. 

"The  one  common  note  of  all  this  country  is  the  haunting  presence  of  the  ocean." 

It  was  about  this  time  that  the  mysterious  Gentleman  Bandit  was  puzzling  the  whole  country. 
A  refined,  likable  Englishman  mixed  in  the  best  society  of  Monterev.  The  only  things  that  ever 
interfered  with  his  social  engagements  were  frequent  visits  to  his  ranch  up  in  the  hills  back  of 
Monterey. 


76  AMERICAN  MONTEREY 

Jim  McMahon,  the  County  Treasurer,  collected  $50,000  in  Watsonville  one  day  and  set  out 
for  Salinas  that  night. 

He  was  waylaid  and  captured  by  a  band  of  robbers  whose  tactics  had  become  famous.  They 
never  committed  murder  and  robbed  only  messengers  carrying  large  sums  of  money. 

McMahon  was  lead  before  the  leader  in  a  forest  retreat  on  the  Englishman's  ranch.  "Why, 
hello,  Tom!"  said  he  to  the  Englishman,  by  whom  he  was  confronted. 

"Hello,  Jim!  Sit  down  and  have  a  smoke."  Before  the  campfire,  the  two  smoked  and  chatted 
of  politics.  Jim  thought  he  was  going  to  get  off  easy.  Midnight  came.  Tom  spoke:  "Sorry,  Jim, 
I  always  like  to  accommodate  friends,  but  this  is  a  matter  of  business.  If  I  do  not  keep  faith  with 
my  men  here,  they  will  not  keep  faith  with  me.  You  must  give  us  that  $50,000." 

"I  did  not  bring  it  with  me."     Search  proved  the  truth  of  his  assertion. 

"Where  is  it?" 

"I  gave  it  to  a  friend  who  was  leaving  for  Monterey  tonight.     He  has  it  with  him." 

"Well,  d him,  I'll  have  his  frock  coat,  anyway,"  snarled  one  of  the  vaqueros.     He  got  it. 

A  few  days  later,  while  off  on  a  big  spree,  he  wore  the  coat  to  Santa  Cruz.  He  was  arrested 
and,  under  pressure,  fully  confessed  the  workings  of  the  gang.  As  a  result,  they  were  all  captured 
and  convicted. 

AN    ABANDONED    MISSION 

During  the  seventies,  there  was  not  even  an  occasional  bandit  to  enliven  the  desolation  of  Car- 
melo.  Most  of  the  land  was  owned  by  people  who  had  their  homes  elsewhere. 

The  few  who  lived  there  farmed  a  little,  raised  cattle  and  had  their  annual  rodeo,  much  in  the 
old  Mexican  way,  though  many  of  the  rancheros  were  Gringos. 

It  was  a  peaceful,  simple  sort  of  life.  About  the  hardest  task  they  had  was  to  drive  in  ox  carts 
to  Watsonville  for  a  load  of  beans.  They  considered  beans  a  necessity,  but  found  it  easier  to  drive 
to  Watsonville  for  them  than  to  raise  a  crop  in  Carmel  Valley. 

In  an  angle  of  the  coast,  a  Chinese  fishing  hamlet,  like  a  bit  of  the  Orient  picked  up  and 
brought  thither  on  a  magic  carpet,  found  shelter  from  the  winds. 

Along  El  Rio  Carmelo  the  last  remnants  of  Carmel's  hundreds  of  neophytes  still  built  their 
tule  huts,  worked  during  the  week  for  the  rancheros  and  drank  the  Gringo's  fire-water  on  Sunday; 


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AMERICAN  MONTEREY  77 

or  made  a  still  more  wretched  existence  by  selling  the  products  of  their  tiny,  half -cultivated  garden 
plots. 

Once  a  year  they  came  and  celebrated  the  Feast  of  San  Carlos  in  the  sacristy  of  the  old  mis- 
sion, the  only  part  of  it  that  was  not  full  of  weeds. 

With  the  help  of  the  Portuguese  custodian  of  the  mission,  Mr.  Christiano  Machado,  they  put  a 
new  roof  over  the  sacristy  and  kept  it  in  partial  repair. 

Sometimes,  too,  when  they  were  sick,  they  stole  secretly  into  the  chapel  and  held  a  sort  of 
rosary  over  a  certain  spot  back  of  the  altar  rail.  They  said  the  Padres  had  taught  them  to  do 
this,  for  beneath  that  spot  lay  the  body  of  Padre  Junipero  Serra. 

The  growth  of  other  mission  towns  throughout  the  State  aroused  Father  Cassanova,  a  Swiss 
priest,  who  had  come  to  Monterey  in  1868,  to  a  realization  of  the  possibilities  of  Carmel.  He 
ordered  Mr.  Machado  to  clean  up  the  mission. 

EXHUMING   THE    BODY    OF    PADRE    SERRA 

So  much  sand  had  drifted  into  the  chapel  that  the  custodian  and  his  daughter  had  to  drag  it 
out  on  sleds ;  they  had  no  wheelbarrows.  The  third  day,  Mr.  Machado  came  upon  the  stones  mark- 
ing the  graves  of  the  four  Padres  buried  in  San  Carlos. 

Father  Cassanova  set  July  3,  1882,  as  the  day  on  which  the  graves  should  be  opened  with  all 
appropriate  ceremony.  At  the  appointed  time,  in  addition  to  the  prominent  men  who  were  there  by 
special  invitation,  quite  a  crowd  came,  eager  to  see  if  Padre  Serra  was  really  buried  there. 

While  Father  Cassanova  read  the  records  describing  the  burial  place  of  the  Padres,  Mr.  Ma- 
chado opened  the  graves.  Each  body  was  identified ;  some  of  the  garments  of  each  Padre  were  taken 
to  be  preserved  as  holy  relics.  The  tombs  were  then  closed  and  sealed  and  a  marble  slab  placed 
over  each  mound.  A  tablet  was  hung  on  the  wall,  stating  the  fact  of  the  burial. 

Father  Cassanova  and  a  few  others  set  to  work  to  raise  money  for  a  new  roof.  In  1887,  the 
present  steep,  shingle  roof  was  put  on.  It  spoiled  the  graceful  lines  of  the  church,  but  saved  it 
from  crumbling  entirely  away. 

In  preparing  for  the  government  a  report  on  the  "Condition  of  the  Mission  Indians,"  Helen 
Hunt  Jackson  visited  Carmel  and  became  deeply  interested  in  the  Carmel  Indians. 

She  wrote: 


78  AMERICAN  MONTEREY 

"The  most  picturesque  of  the  mission  Indians'  hiding  places  was  that  on  the  Carmel  River,  a 
fe>v  miles  from  the  San  Carlos  Mission.  Except  by  help  of  a  guide,  it  cannot  be  found.  A  faint 
trail  turning  off  from  the  road  in  the  river  bottom  leads  down  to  the  river's  edge.  You  follow  it 
into  the  river  and  across.  A  few  rods  up  from  the  river  bank,  a  stealthy,  narrow  footpath  appeared 
through  willow  copses,  sunk  in  meadow  grasses,  across  shingly  bits  of  alder-walled  beach  it  creeps 
till  it  comes  out  in  a  lovely  spot,  half  basin,  half  rocky  knoll,  where,  tucked  away  in  nooks  and 
hollows,  are  the  Indian  houses,  eight  or  ten,  some  of  adobe,  some  of  tule  reeds." 

In  1885,  Charles  Warren  Stoddard  came  to  Monterey  by  boat  and  laughed  over  the  experience 
long  afterwards: 

"Almost  before  we  had  got  our  reckoning,  we  drifted  up  under  a  dark  pier,  on  which  ghostly 
figures  seemed  to  be  floating  to  and  fro,  bidding  us  all  hail.  We  threaded  one  or  two  wide,  weedy, 
silent  streets;  not  a  soul  was  visible,  though  it  was  but  nine  in  the  evening,  which  was  not  to  be 
wondered  at,  since  the  town  is  divided  against  itself;  the  one-half  slept,  the  other  still  sat  upon 
the  pier,  making  a  night  of  it. 

"I  saw  her  in  her  decay,  the  once  flourishing  capital.  The  old  convent  was  windowless  and 
its  halls  half  filled  with  hay ;  the  barracks  and  the  calaboose,  inglorious  ruins ;  the  block  house  and 
the  fort,  mere  shadows  of  their  former  selves.  As  for  Colton  Hall,  it  is  a  modern  looking  structure 
that  scarcely  harmonizes  with  the  picturesque  adobes  that  surround  it. 

"She  was  a  dear,  old,  stupid  town  in  my  day.  She  boasted  but  a  half  dozen  thinly  populated 
streets.  One  might  pass  through  these  streets  almost  any  day,  at  almost  any  hour  of  the  day, 
footing  it  all  the  way  from  the  dismantled  fort  on  the  seaside  to  the  ancient  cemetery,  grown  to 
seed,  at  the  other  extremity  of  the  settlement,  and  not  meet  a  half  score  of  people. 

"Geese  fed  in  the  gutters  and  hissed  as  I  passed  by;  cows  grazing  by  the  wayside  eyed  me 
in  grave  surprise;  overhead,  the  snow-white  gulls  wheeled  and  cried  peevishly;  and  on  the  heights 
that  shelter  the  ex-capital,  the  pine  trees  moaned  and  moaned  and  after  caught  the  sea-fog  among 
their  thin  branches  when  the  little  town  was  basking  in  the  sunshine  and  dreaming  its  endless 
dream." 

Long  afterwards  he  wrote:  "The  town  has  fallen  into  the  hands  of  Croesus  and  lost  its  identity. 
It  is  hopelessly  modernized. 

"Cypress  Point  was  solemn  enough  of  yore.     The  giant  trees  were  hung  with   funeral  mosses; 


AMERICAN  MONTEREY  79 

they  had  huge  elbows  and  shoulders  and  long,  thin  arms,  with  skeleton  fingers  at  the  end  of  them, 
that  bore  knots  that  looked  like  heads  and  faces  such  as  Dore  portrayed  them  in  his  fantastic 
illustrations.  They  were  like  giants  transformed;  they  are  still,  no  doubt,  for  the  tide  of  fashion 
is  not  likely  to  prevail  against  them. 

"They  stand  upon  the  verge  of  the  sea  where  they  have  stood  for  ages  defying  the  elements. 
The  shadows  that  gather  under  their  locked  branches  are  like  caverns  and  dungeons  and  lairs.  The 
fox  steals  stealthily  away  as  you  grope  among  the  roots  that  writhe  out  of  the  earth  and  strike  into 
it  again,  like  pythons  in  a  rage.  The  coyote  sits  in  the  edge  of  the  dusk  and  cries  with  a  half- 
human  cry.  And  here  are  corpse-like  trees  that  have  been  naked  for  ages;  every  angle  of  their 
lean,  gray  boughs  seems  to  imply  something.  Who  will  interpret  these  hieroglyphics? 

"Blood-red  sunsets  flood  this  haunted  wood;  there  is  a  sound  as  of  a  deep-drawn  sigh  passing 
through  it  at  intervals.  The  moonlight  fills  it  with  mystery;  and  along  its  rocky  front,  where  the 
sea  flowers  blossom  and  the  sea-grass  waves  its  glossy  locks,  the  soul  of  the  poet  and  of  the  artist 
meet  and  mingle  between  shadowless  sea  and  cloudless  sky,  in  the  unsearchable  mystery  of  that 
cypress  solitude." 

"When  I  think  on  that  beach  at  Monterey,  the  silent  streets,  the  walled,  unweeded  gardens,  a 
wistful  Saturday  afternoon  feeling  comes  over  me.  I  see  the  wheeling  gulls,  the  gray  sand,  the 
brown,  bleak  meadows,  the  empty  streets,  the  shops,  tenantless  sometimes  for  the  tenant  is  at  dinner 
or  at  dominoes,  the  other  shops  that  are  tenantless  forever  and  the  keys  are  rusted  away." 

So  had  Monterey's  awakening  been  only  for  a  moment,  not  long  enough  for  her  to  raise  up 
from  the  Sleepy  Hollow  of  memory. 

The  poet  made  Monterey  his  home  from  the  time  of  his  first  visit  till  his  death,  only  going 
away  when  business  necessitated  it.  He  had  been  reared  a  Presbyterian,  but,  at  the  age  of  twelve, 
became  a  Catholic.  April  26,  1909,  his  funeral  was  held  at  San  Carlos  chapel,  Monterey,  and  High 
Mass  said  for  his  soul. 

MODERNIZING    MONTEREY 

Six  years  after  the  poet  first  came  to  Monterey,  Mrs.  Leland  Stanford  became  interested  in  the 
life  and  works  of  Padre  Junipero  Serra.  She  had  a  beautiful  granite  statue  of  the  Father  erected 
near  the  spot  where  he  first  said  mass. 

The  monument  was  scarcely  in  place  when  the  corrupt  City  Board  of  School  Trustees  began 


AMERICAN  MONTEREY 

plans  to  tear  down  Colton  Hall  and  use  the  stone   and   site    for   a   new    school   house.      The    wall 
around  it  and  the  jail  had  been  demolished  before  Monterey  woke  up  to  save  its  historic  building. 

Just  in  the  nick  of  time,  a  few  patriotic  citizens,  prominent  among  them  Mr.  Harry  A.  Greene, 
Mr.  Sargent,  Sr.,  and  Colonel  Lambert,  called  a  mass  meeting,  annulled  the  board's  action  and 
raised  money  enough  for  another  school  site. 

The  city  could  not  afford  to  repair  the  hall.  Joseph  Knowland,  present  Congressman,  had  a 
bill  passed  in  the  Legislature  providing  that  the  building  be  leased  by  the  State  and  be  by  it  kept 
in  repair.  It  is  now  rented  by  the  city  and  used  as  a  city  hall. 

The  old  custom  house,  begun  in  1814,  was  restored  and  kept  in  repair  by  a  similar  provision 
of  the  Legislature. 

The  purchase  of  the  narrow-gauge  railroad  by  the  Southern  Pacific  and  consequent  improve- 
ment in  the  service  had  been  gradually  arousing  Monterey  to  a  sense  of  her  possible  future  as  a 
port  of  the  Santa  Clara,  San  Joaquin  and  Pajaro  Valleys. 

In  1892,  active  work  was  begun  by  Mr.  H.  A.  Greene  and  a  few  others  to  secure  a  railroad 
from  Monterey  to  Fresno.  They  determined  to  make  this  road  independent  of  the  Southern  Pacific. 

The  Monterey  and  Fresno  Railroad,  after  all  its  staring  headlines  and  the  hard  work  of  a 
few  earnest  men  to  get  right  of  way  and  such  things,  has  paid  its  debts  but  nothing  more. 

Several  other  attempts  have  since  been  made  to  get  a  cross-country  railroad.  Lack  of  funds 
has  frustrated  them  all. 

About  1897,  Mr.  Juan  Malarin  installed  a  street  car  line,  connecting  Monterey  with  Pacific 
Grove.  It  was  built  for  horse-cars  and  gave  quite  efficient  service. 

In  1903,  it  was  changed  to  an  electric  road,  the  tracks  extended  to  Del  Monte  and  a  cross- 
town  line  put  in,  going  direct  to  the  Presidio. 

At  Carmel,  no  bustle  of  progress  disturbed  the  ceaseless  song  of  the  sea.  A  Western  Brynhild, 
wrapped  in  a  magic  slumber,  she  waited  the  coming  of  an  immortal  hero  to  waken  her.  Not 
Sigurd,  but  the  Soul  of  Art,  has  broken  her  enchanted  sleep.* 

In  Monterey  all  attempts  at  municipal  awakening  were  frustrated  by  the  unprogressive  Mexi- 
can vote.  The  Spanish-American  War  enabled  Americans,  for  the  first  time  in  the  history  of  Mon- 
terey, to  effectually  overcome  the  Mexican  vote. 

*Carmel  lands  were  opened  to  the  public.  In  November,  1902,  when  the  Carrnel  Development  Co.  was  organized. 


AMERICAN  MONTEREY  81 

At  that  time,  the  Mexicans  and  Spaniards  of  California,  and  especially  the  Spanish  priests, 
had  a  very  strong  feeling  against  the  United  States.  The  Americans  in  Monterey,  realizing  that 
a  hostile  boat  could  easily  destroy  the  town,  organized  a  marine  corps  and  drilled  under  an  ex-navy 
officer,  Lieutenant  Lasher.  They  petitioned  the  government  for  a  boat  on  which  to  drill.  The  re- 
quest was  granted,  but  the  boat  arrived  too  late  for  use  and  sunk  before  it  reached  San  Fran- 
cisco, whither  it  was  later  sent  by  the  government. 

The  Mexicans  began  to  hold  secret  meetings  and  plot  a  general  massacre  of  all  American 
citizens. 

Father  Mestres,  the  successor  of  Father  Cassanova,  was  a  Spanish  priest  but  an  American 
citizen.  He  had  been  doing  all  he  could  to  remove  the  Mexican  sentiment  by  preaching,  but  had 
failed. 

Mr.  H.  A.  Greene  and  others  decided  to  put  up  an  American  flag  on  the  harbor.  They  went 
into  the  woods,  cut  a  tall,  straight  pine  for  a  flagpole  and  arranged  to  have  elaborate  ceremonies 
over  its  erection  and  the  raising  of  the  Stars  and  Stripes. 

Father  Mestres  was  the  orator  of  the  day.  He  spoke  earnestly,  urging  upon  the  people  their 
duty  to  the  flag  and  their  oath  as  American  citizens  and  reminding  them  of  the  misrule  of  Cali- 
fornia by  Spain  and  Mexico.  Finally,  in  spite  of  hisses  and  threats  from  the  Mexicans,  he  repeated 
the  whole  oration  in  Spanish. 

Plots  to  murder  him  followed  thick  and  fast,  but  his  quiet  courage  cowed  the  conspirators. 

He  bought  small  American  flags  and  nailed  one  to  each  pew  in  the  chapel.  The  people  objected, 
but  dared  not  disobey  the  Father,  who  bade  them  leave  the  flags  where  he  had  put  them. 

To  reach  the  hearts  of  the  young  folks,  Rev.  Mestres  organized  a  special  ceremonial,  "Bless- 
ing the  Flag."  After  High  Mass,  fifteen  girls,  dressed  in  white  with  red  and  blue  ribbons,  brought 
in  a  huge  American  flag  and  placed  it  before  the  altar,  where  it  was  blessed  with  all  ceremony. 

Just  as  they  were  about  to  end  the  festival  by  raising  it  on  the  pole  at  the  convent  across  the 
street,  a  telegram  came:  "Manila  has  fallen.  The  Spanish  fleet  is  sunk  in  Santiago  Bay." 

Amid  storms  of  cheers,  the  flag  was  raised  to  its  place.  Enthusiasm  ran  wild.  The  Spanish 
spirit  was  crushed  in  Monterey,  never  to  rise. 

After  the  war,  the  Mayor  appealed  to  the  United  States  to  establish  a  military  reservation  at 
Monterey.  The  request  was  granted. 


82  AMERICAN  MONTEREY 

In  1896,  Monterey  began  a  series  of  brilliant  public  celebrations  by  her  Semi-Centennial  of 
the  American  occupation. 

Business  firms  came  there,  foreign  visitors  were  entertained  by  her  citizens,  till  now  she  is 
known  far  and  wide,  a  city  of  today. 

If,  some  time,  you  long  to  see  the  Monterey  of  older  days,  walk  down  Alvarado  Street 
towards  the  custom  house  in  the  early  evening.  There  the  dark-eyed  senoritas  still  wander,  the 
bright  flowers  in  their  hair  half  hid  by  silken  lace  mantillas. 

"There  is  one,  a  perfect  little  beauty,  who  wears  her  hair  in  an  elaborate  style  with  beautiful 
curls  at  one  side;  a  dress  with  Dutch  neck  and  a  lace  scarf,  a  dainty  dress  that  is  short  enough  to 
show  her  slim  ankles  and  tiny  slippers.  She  is  pretty  and  knows  it,  but  is  so  innocent  that  she 
never  guesses  that  you  just  have  to  stop  and  look  at  her  again.  She  still  lives  in  the  Old  Monterey." 

Alvarado  Street  ends  at  the  custom  house,  now  used  as  headquarters  for  the  Native  Sons'  and 
Native  Daughters'  associations  (social  organizations  of  native-born  Californians).  As  you  pause  on 
its  veranda  and  look  at  the  myriad  tiny  boats  on  the  bay,  it  is  easy  to  picture  some  olive-skinned 
smuggler  stealing  silently  past  the  wharves  to  a  sheltered  nook  where  he  may  hide  his  plunder  till 
he  can  safely  take  it  away  to  sell. 

When  you  turn  back  along  Alvarado  Street,  the  illusion  vanishes.  On  the  right,  the  old  Pacific 
Hotel  stands.  No  sounds  of  mirth  or  music  issue  from  it;  its  walls  are  warped  and  weather-worn 
and  most  of  its  windows  are  dirty  and  barren.  Yet  once  it  was  one  of  the  liveliest  hotels  on  the 
Coast.  Only  an  artist's  studio  and  the  Salvation  Army  are  there  now. 

"Heavens,  what  was  that  shriek?"  Nothing  but  the  7:50  train  from  San  Francisco  rushing 
and  screaming  along  just  below  the  custom  house. 

Puzzled  by  these  contrasts,  you  wander  on  down  Alvarado  Street,  past  the  Chamber  of 
Commerce  and  a  whole  row  of  brightly  illuminated  stores.  The  noise  of  an  electric  street  car 
going  to  Del  Monte  half  drowns  the  music  of  a  blind  man  who  sits,  day  after  day,  playing  his 
accordion  in  front  of  an  adobe  cigar  store.  You  cross  a  car  track,  pass  the  Hotel  Monterey,  the 
First  National  Bank  and  another  block  of  stores,  then  come  to  the  home  of  Senorita  Bonifacio. 

It  sits  in  a  yard  that  is  a  mass  of  flowers.  Over  the  gateway  the  arch  of  the  famous  Sherman 
Rose  still  blooms  in  unfading  beauty.  For  years  the  senorita  has  lived  there  alone.  Seldom  does 


AMERICAN  MONTEREY  83 

anything  break  the  regular  program  of  her  daily  life.  She  keeps  her  rooms  just  as  carefully  and 
prepares  her  solitary  meals  just  as  daintily  as  would  a  bride  of  a  month.  "There  isn't  a  speck  of 
dust  anywhere,  not  even  on  her  kitchen  water-tank." 

In  vain  her  friends  urge  her  not  to  live  so  completely  alone;  she  fears  nothing.  Every  week 
she  goes  to  evening  mass  and  returns  alone  to  the  silent,  unlighted  house.  She,  too,  is  still  in  the 
Old  Monterey. 

Leaving  the  hotel  next  morning,  you  pass  by  more  stores  and  the  postoffice,  then  turn  to  the 
left  as  the  car  does  and  come  upon  the  "First  Lumber  House  in  California." 

Tommy  Allan,  the  one-armed  constable  of  Monterey,  opens  the  door  almost  before  you  have 
knocked.  His  coat  is  off;  from  his  right  hip  pocket  a  revolver  gleams  threateningly;  from  his  left, 
a  pair  of  handcuffs  jangles  sinisterly.  He  has  just  returned  from  an  unsuccessful  hunt  for  a 
criminal. 

Criminals  and  weapons  are  forgotten  while,  with  characteristic  Scotch-Irish  hospitality,  this 
son  of  Mrs.  Botchson  tells  the  story  of  his  home. 

His  daughter,  Mrs.  Dana,  a  fair-cheeked,  dark-eyed  woman,  who  seems  to  be  more  than  half 
Spanish,  pauses  in  her  breadmaking  to  give  a  dish  of  pudding  to  the  baby  or  add  an  occasional 
word  to  her  father's  narrative. 

Finally  their  tale  is  finished.  Only  the  soft  pitter-patter  of  mice  running  races  around  the 
kitchen  and  the  faint  laughter  of  children,  blown  in  through  the  open  door,  break  the  silence. 
The  cheery  constable  is  thinking  of  other  days. 

A  block  from  Mr.  Allan's  home  stands  a  large,  green  house  with  unusually  well-kept  grounds. 
It  is  the  Munras  home,  built  in  1824,  covered  with  wood  now,  so  as  to  be  more  like  its  neighbors. 
It  is  the  home  of  Thomas  Field,  president  of  the  Bank  of  Monterey. 

Inside,  there  are  quaint  old  Spanish  dresses  and  mantillas,  the  famous  spoons  made  from 
spangles,  a  beautifully  carved  Spanish  saddle,  and  an  old  chair  cut  out  and  put  together  by  the 
Indians  from  the  mission.  It  was  used  by  Mrs.  Field's  great-grandfather  in  his  surgeon's  office  in 
1804. 

Called  by  the  deep-voiced  bell,  you  wander  over  to  the  erstwhile  Royal  Chapel,  now  a  mere 
parish  church.  Up  the  whalebone  walk  and  across  the  whalebone  Star  of  Hope,  through  the  dim 


84  AMERICAN  MONTEREY 

vestibule  you  pass  into  the  chapel  itself.  The  holy  pictures  between  the  stained-glass  windows  are 
those  used  by  Padre  Serra.  His,  too,  are  the  silver  candlesticks.  A  wooden  crucifix  and  Christ 
near  the  entrance  were  carved  for  him  by  the  Indians. 

The  relics  of  Junipero  Serra  are  kept  in  a  little  room  beyond  the  sacristy.  Thither  you  go  to 
marvel  at  the  exquisite  embroidery  on  the  time-worn  vestments,  especially  one.  A  Governor's  wife 
wore  it  before  the  Queen.  Finding  no  use  for  so  handsome  a  gown  in  the  pioneer  town,  she  trans- 
formed it  into  a  cope. 

Why  do  they  not  have  a  better  place  to  keep  things?  Ask  the  Bishop.  A  few  years  ago,  the 
Junipero  Society  was  formed.  It  planned  to  erect  a  beautiful  marble  shrine,  fitted  with  glass  cases 
for  the  relics,  on  the  spot  where  Padre  Serra  said  mass.  Use  of  the  land  was  offered  gratis  by  the 
Town  Council.  Being  part  of  the  waterfront,  it  could  neither  be  sold  nor  given  away.  The  Bishop 
refused  to  dedicate  the  chapel  on  ground  not  belonging  to  the  church,  and  the  plan  fell  through. 

Back  of  the  church  is  the  last  remnant  of  the  Vizcayno  oak  tree.  It  had  died  from  neglect 
and  graders  were  about  to  cover  up  the  stump  when  Mr.  Greene  rescued  it.  Then  he  and  Father 
Mestres  had  it  put  here  for  safekeeping.  From  the  branches,  a  chair  was  made  and  given  to  the 
Native  Sons. 

Here  and  there  you  pass  ruins  of  old  adobes  with  their  quaint  tile  roofs  half  fallen  and  the 
grass  growing  from  the  walls. 

A  few  blocks  south  of  the  church  are  two  houses  in  perfect  repair.  One  is  the  first  Court  of 
Records,  formerly  used  as  General  Halleck's  headquarters.  It  was  called  House  of  the  Little  Man 
of  the  Four  Winds  by  the  Mexicans  because  there  was  a  weather  vane  on  it,  in  the  form  of  a  horse- 
man, the  first  in  California.  The  corner  adobe  was  Consul  Larkin's  home. 

Time  has  made  little  change  in  these  houses.  Behind  them  is  the  typical  Spanish  court-garden 
with  its  walks,  shaded  arbors  and  stone  stove  for  broiling  all  sorts  of  meat,  and  back  of  these,  the 
low  adobe  dwellings  that  once  housed  Indian  servants.  Even  the  tile-topped  adobe  fence  is  still 
untouched. 

You  wander  on,  past  the  advertisement-plastered  shack  that  was  once  the  first  theater  in  Cali- 
fornia, where,  the  gossips  say,  Jenny  Lind  sang;  only,  of  course,  you  do  not  believe  them.  You 
pause  awhile  before  the  erstwhile  homes  of  Stoddard  and  Stevenson  and  come  at  last  to  modern 
looking  Colton  Hall. 


CAPTAIN  BRALEY 

— One  of  Sloat's  officers — 

BY  THE  VIZCAINO  OAK  STUMP 


AMERICAN  MONTEREY  85 

Next  day  you  take  the  car  for  Pacific  Grove  and  go  by  the  Associated  Oil  Company's  reser- 
voirs. Their  pipe  lines  tap  the  Coalinga  oil  fields. 

Beyond  them  is  the  glaring  sign  of  a  fish  cannery,  perched  on  the  edge  of  the  Bay,  whose  calm 
waters  are  dotted  with  tiny  fishing  boats. 

A  few  blocks  more  and  you  pass  a  picturesque  Moorish  house,  standing  far  back  from  the 
street.  In  its  grounds  a  babbling  brook,  stone-bordered  paths  and  rustic  benches  are  shaded  by 
every  kind  of  tree  that  can  be  grown  in  Monterey. 

It  is  the  home  of  the  Monterey  Tree  Growing  Club,  parent  of  all  such  clubs  in  America.  Their 
purpose  is  to  distribute  trees,  seeds  and  information  about  them  gratis  to  all  public  grounds  and 
schools. 

The  oldest  thing  in  Monterey  is  the  Mexican  Custom  House;  the  newest  thing  is  the  Break- 
water. 

"The  great  obstacles  to  shipping  in  Monterey  Bay  are  the  ground  swells  and  undertow. 
The  ground  swells  sometimes  sweep  into  the  Bay,  causing  surging  to  a  degree  dangerous  to  the 
larger  vessels,  while  smaller  vessels  are  seldom  disturbed." 

Moreover,  products  from  a  large  interior  territory  can  be  shipped  through  Monterey  at  a  sav- 
ing of  twenty-five  per  cent  on  present  facilities.  The  entire  waterfront  is  owned  by  the  municipality 
and  cannot  be  sold  or  permanently  leased. 

She  has  been  trying  since  1850  to  get  a  breakwater.  In  1911,  Congress  appropriated  money 
for  one.  Surveys  have  been  made  and  in  a  few  years  the  breakwater  will  be  a  reality. 

Then,  on  the  smoke  of  big  steamers,  the  last  shreds  of  the  "mantle  of  old  traditions"  will  be 
borne  away. 

PACIFIC   GROVE 

Monterey  is  well  protected.     On  one  side  is  Pacific  Grove,  the  town  of  churches. 

It  was  founded  June  15,  1875,  by  David  Jacks  and  a  delegation  of  Methodists.  It  was  in- 
tended to  serve  as  a  combined  health  resort  and  camp  meeting  grounds. 

In  1883,  the  Pacific  Improvement  Company  purchased  Pacific  Grove  from  Mr.  Jacks. 

They  immediately  commenced  improving  it.  A  new  water  system  was  installed,  a  new  hotel 
built  and  a  real  "town"  started. 


86  AMERICAN  MONTEREY 

Today  it  has  good  grammar  schools,  a  high  school,  churches  of  nearly  every  denomination, 
up-to-date  stores  and  no  saloons. 

Dozens  of  tiny  cottages  nestle  among  the  sand  hills  and  trees.  In  winter  they  are  quiet,  but 
during  the  summer  season  a  more  lively  picture  could  scarce  be  found  than  these  same  cottages,  full 
to  overflowing  with  summer  campers,  religious  and  otherwise. 

DEL    MONTE 

On  the  other  side  of  Monterey  stands  famous  Hotel  Del  Monte,  one  of  the  most  modern  and 
elegantly  appointed  hotels  on  the  Pacific  Coast,  yet  its  history  goes  back  to  the  Mexican  days. 

It  was  once  part  of  Rancho  Lagunita  that,  like  so  many  others,  fell  into  the  hands  of  David  Jacks. 
In  1880,  this  property,  together  with  the  Rancho  Pescadero,  was  sold  to  the  Pacific  Improvement 
Company  for  five  dollars  an  acre. 

A  hotel  was  put  up  at  once,  on  the  same  architectural  plans  as  the  present  building,  but  not, 
(/•of  course,  as  large.     It  was  burned  to  the  ground  on  the  night  of  May  31,  1887. 

/In  October  of  the  same  year,  the  new  hotel  was  ready  for  use.  The  old  rancho  of  126  acres 
y  is  now  a  private  park.  Where  cattle  once  ran  wild,  flowers  and  trees  from  all  countries  now  make 
^cr  Del  Monte  Park  one  of  the  scenic  wonders  of  California. 

After  breakfast,  on  the  first  day  of  your  stay  at  Del  Monte,  you  join  an  automobile  party  to 
see  the  world-famous  "Seventeen  Mile  Drive." 

In  the  auto  is  a  lawyer,  fresh  from  a  land  title  case.  While  you  are  waiting  for  luncheon  to 
be  served  at  quaint,  beautiful  Pebble  Beach  Lodge,  he  tells  the  odd  history  of  the  picturesque 
drive. 

"On  the  seventh  day  of  January,  1836,  Fabian  Berreto  petitioned  Governor  Gutierrez  for  a 
grant  of  land  called  Pescadero,  from  Point  Lobos  to  Point  Cypress,  a  little  less  than  a  league.  The 
grant  was  confirmed  by  the  Assembly  in  1840. 

"Berreto  died  the  next  year,  leaving  his  widow,  Maria,  in  possession  of  the  rancho.  After 
four  years  she  remarried.  With  her  husband  she  Hved  on  the  rancho  till  1846.  In  order  to  get  a 
town  house,  she  sold  the  whole  4,398  acres  for  $500,  or  a  little  less  than  twelve  cents  an  acre. 

"Six  years  later,  J.  C.  Gore  paid  $4,000  for  the  same  estate.  Gore  did  not  live  on  the  Pesca- 
dero Ranch. 

"In  I860,  Maria  gave  another  deed  to  the  same  property  to  Mr.  McDougall,  a  Scotchman,  and 


AMERICAN  MONTEREY  87 

agent  for  Mr.  Jacks.     The  property  was,  of  course,    immediately    transferred    to    Mr.    Jacks.       He 
promptly  took  possession,  paid  the  taxes  and  fenced  the   rancho. 

"Tired  of  life  in  California,  eager  to  escape  from  the  litigation  caused  by  the  double  deed, 
Gore  gave  his  attorney  in  New  Jersey  power  to  exchange  the  Rancho  for  property  valued  at 
$33,000. 

"Oratory  in  the  land  suit  that  had  begun  over  the  rancho  became  rather  fiery.  July  9,  I860, 
Gore  wrote  to  his  attorney,  giving  a  description  of  the  trial: 

"  'One  of  the  witnesses,  a  Scotchman,  was  kept  on  the  stand  for  six  days.  On  the  last  day 
but  one,  the  cross-examination  by  my  attorney  became  so  severe  that  both  the  witness  and  Ashley 
threatened  him  with  violence.  I  told  them  squarely  that  if  there  was  to  be  any  fighting,  I  meant 
to  have  a  hand  in  it  and  my  hand  would  be  a  bloody  one.  If  I  could  have  had  any  excuse,  I  would 
have  dropped  Ashley  in  his  tracks.' 

"When  Gore  died  in  1887,  he  willed  the  rancho  and  its  troubles  to  his  son. 

"David  Jacks  retained  possession  and  paid  the  taxes  until  1880.  Then  he  sold  it  to  the 
Pacific  Improvement  Company  for  five  dollars  an  acre. 

"Litigation  over  the  famous  Rancho  Pescadero  came  to  an  end  when  the  last  descendant  of 
John  Gore  and  complainant  in  the  last  case  against  David  Jacks  was  killed  in  the  big  earthquake 
of  1906." 

By  that  time,  lunch  is  served  and  the  story  ended.  It  is,  however,  only  the  beginning  of 
your  pleasures  in  the  "Eden  of  the  Pacific,"  especially  if  you  come  in  the  hunting  season  and  stay 
long  enough  to  journey  out  to  the  fascinating  hills  and  hear  some  of  the  quaintly  piquant  tales 
and  legends  of  the  old  Spanish  and  Mexican  inhabitants. 

Still  living  half  in  a  dreamland,  you  leave  Del  Monte's  drives  and  hedges,  its  tame  squirrels 
and  exotic  flowers,  to  visit  Carmel,  the  "Florence  of  America." 

A  CITY  OF  THE  SOUL 

In  days  of  old,  the  Padre,  intent  on  his  mission  work,  went  once  a  month  to  say  mass  in  the 
Royal  Chapel  at  Monterey. 

Of  Carmel's  thousand  neophytes,  only  one  remains.  A  bent  old  man  comes  once  a  year,  on 
San  Carlos  Day,  to  worship  in  the  mission. 


88  AMERICAN  MONTEREY 

Some  went  back  to  their  savage  kinsmen  and  so  passed  beyond  the  ken  of  the  pale  face. 
Many  married  into  Mexican  families.  Most  of  them  went  home  to  the  Great  Spirit. 

In  their  stead,  a  new  heathen  nation  dwells  around  the  old  mission;  but  the  church  gives  no 
heed.  The  yellow  man  does  not  claim  her  attention  as  the  red  man  did.  Now,  once  a  month,  the 
Padre  leaves  his  church  in  Monterey  and  comes  to  say  mass  at  San  Carlos  del  Carmelo. 

By  the  church,  occupying  the  land  of  the  mission  orchard,  where  some  of  the  pear  trees  planted 
by  Padre  Serra  still  bear  fruit,  is  an  old,  humble  dwelling  formerly  occupied  by  Christiano  Machado. 
For  years,  the  old  man  regaled  tourists  with  stories  of  the  mission.  In  1911,  an  assistant  priest 
spent  a  few  months  there. 

He  very  harshly  rebuked  Mr.  Machado  for  telling  such  fanciful  tales.  Hurt  and  angry,  the 
old  custodian  went  away,  leaving  the  eldest  of  his  ten  children  in  charge.  Sometimes,  his  little 
grandson,  a  lad  of  about  eight,  tends  the  church.  His  grandfather's  love  of  the  mission  has  been 
inherited  by  the  little  boy  and  a  note  of  reverence  creeps  into  the  childish  voice  whenever  he  repeats 
the  story  of  the  Padres  who  lie  buried  there. 

Only  the  foundation  of  the  original  adobe  wall  forming  the  quadrangle  of  the  mission  is  now 
left.  The  few  adobes  standing  are  relics  of  the  priests'  dwellings;  these,  being  neglected,  are  grad- 
ually washing  away. 

Fifty -one  Sundays  out  of  the  year,  the  worshipers  are  few.  But  on  the  fifty-second  Sunday, 
the  one  immediately  following  November  4,  the  faithful,  artists,  tourists,  and  just  "common  folk," 
all  flock  to  the  mission.  It  is  San  Carlos  Day. 

For  a  week  before  the  festival,  loving  hands  have  been  busy  putting  shining  green  pine  boughs 
over  the  scarred  walls,  back  of  the  altar,  around  the  pictures  of  the  saints  and  in  the  provokingly 
up-to-date  stained-glass  windows. 

Christiano  Machado's  are  the  fingers  that  bank  the  pines  and  tufted  grasses,  hide  the  neglected 
pillars  with  masses  of  red  and  pink  geraniums  against  a  background  of  dark  pines  and  conceal  the 
poorly  painted  altar  rail  by  a  screen  of  chrysanthemums,  marigold,  pansies  and  pine  branches.  His 
are  the  hands  that  place  the  myriad  candles  all  ready  to  light  and  make  San  Carlos'  own  altar  a 
bower  of  radiant  beauty. 

High  mass  is  celebrated  at  half  past  ten  in  the  morning.     Long  before  the  auto  speeds  from 


AMERICAN  MONTEREY  89 

Monterey  bringing  Father  Mestres  to  the  mission,  the  Mexicans  and,  if  the  day  be  fine,  one  old 
Indian,  come  on  foot,  on  horseback  and  in  wagons  of  all  kinds.  Their  stiffly  starched,  bright- 
colored  dresses  make  the  old  mission  wake  from  its  dusty  slumber  and  live  the  old  days  over  again. 
Often,  in  the  midst  of  their  quick  chatter  about  the  events  of  the  past  year,  for  many  of  them 
see  each  other  only  once  a  year,  they  pause  to  repeat  the  legends  of  Padre  Serra. 

"But  each  year,"  they  say,  "the  Padre  rises 

From  his  grave  the  mass  to  say, 
In  the  midnight,  'mid  the  ruins, 

On  the  eve  of  Carlos'  day. 

"Then  the  sad  ranks,  long  years  buried, 

From  their  lowly  graves  arise; 
And,  as  if  doom's  trump  had  sounded, 

Each  assumes  his  mortal  guise. 

"With  their  gaudy,  painted  banners, 

And   their  torches   burning  bright, 
In  a  long  procession  come  they 

Through  the  darkness  of  the  night; 
Singing  hymns  and  swinging  censors; 

Dead  folks'  ghosts,  they  onward  pass. 
In  the  church  now  all  are  gathered, 

And  not  long  have  they  to  wait; 
From  his  grave  the  Padre  rises, 

Midnight  mass  to  celebrate. 

First  he  blesses  all  assembled, 
Soldiers,  Indians,  neophytes; 


90  AMERICAN  MONTEREY 

Then  he  bows  before  the  altars 
And  begins  the  mystic  rites. 

"When  the  Padre  says  the  Sanctus, 

And  the  Host  is  raised  on  high, 
Then  the  bells  up  in  the  belfry, 

Swung  by  angels,  make  reply; 
And  the  drums  roll  and  the  soldiers 

In  the  air  a  volley  fire; 
While  the  Salutaris  rises 

Grandly  from  the  phantom  choir. 

"  'Ite,  missa  est'  is  spoken 

At  the  dawning  of  the  day — 
And  Junipero,  the  Padre, 

Lying  down,  resumes  his  sleep. 

"And  the  lights  upon  the  altars 

And  the  torches  cease  to  burn; 
And  the  vestment  and  the  banners 

Into  dust  and  ashes  turn; 

"And  the  ghostly  congregation 

Cross  themselves  and  one  by  one 
Into  thin  air  swiftly  vanish 

And  the  midnight  mass  is  done." 

— R.  E.  WHITE. 

Honk!     Honk!      Chug!     It  is  the  auto  bringing  Father  Mestres.     A  crowd  of  worshipers  fol- 
low him  into  the  church,  while  the  bell,  swung  by  mortal  hands,  summons  those  who  are  farther 


AMERICAN  MONTEREY  91 

away.  Even  the  loud  voice  and  empty  laugh  of  the  curious  are  hushed  as  they  enter  the  bower  of 
flowers  that  only  a  week  ago  was  a  dusty,  uninviting  ruin. 

High  Mass  is  celebrated  as  of  old;  but  the  Indian  choir  is  gone  and  a  second  auto  brings 
trained  choristers  from  Monterey. 

In  simple,  straightforward  language,  first  in  Spanish  and  later  in  English,  Father  Mestres 
tells  the  story  of  the  founding  of  Mission  San  Carlos  Borromeo  del  Carmelo  de  Monterey  and  the 
lesson  of  the  need  for  chaste  women  and  honorable  men  which  was  taught  by  San  Carlos  four  hun- 
dred years  ago.  In  a  few  words,  he  thanks  the  old  man  whose  loving  care  has  made  possible  the 
day"s  celebration. 

Then  all  the  people  form  a  long  procession.  In  the  center  is  carried  the  statue  of  San  Carlos, 
and,  while  the  choir  sings  the  Hymn  to  San  Carlos,  they  march  slowly  around  the  church. 

HYMN  TO  SAN  CARLOS 

1. 
We  come  to  thee,  O  happy  saint, 

To  claim  thy  care  and  love; 
To  beg  thy  guidance  through  this  life 

To  endless  bliss  above. 
CHORUS: 

Oh,  pray  for  us,  San  Carlos, 

For  dangers  hover  near; 
Oh,  pray  that  God  may  give  us  strength 
To  conquer  every  fear. 

2. 
While  in  the  rosy  dawn  of  youth, 

To  God  thy  heart  was  given. 
And  true  through  life  thy  spotless  soul 
f  'Mid  suffering  soared  to  heaven. 

CHORUS. 


92  AMERICAN  MONTEREY 

3. 
Thy  purity  has  won  for  thee 

A  crown  of  fadeless  light. 
Oh,  may  its  radiance  shine  on  us 
And  cheer  the  gloom  of  night. 

CHORUS. 
4. 
Oh,  pray  for  us,  O  happy  saint, 

While  on  the  sea  of  life 
We  struggle  with  the  winds  and  waves, 
Oh,  aid  us  in  the  strife. 

CHORUS. 
5. 
And  when  we've  triumphed  over  sin 

And  death's  dread  hour  is  nigh, 
Oh,  pray  that  God  may  angels  send 
To  bear  our  souls  on  high. 

CHORUS. 

Upon  re-entering  the  church,  all  true  followers  of  San  Carlos  kneel  on  the  altar  steps,  and, 
kissing  the  relic  of  the  saint,  receive  his  blessing.  At  two  in  the  afternoon,  the  service  of  the  Rosary 
is  celebrated. 

That  pretty  ceremony  over,  the  autos  whisk  choir  and  Father  back  to  their  duties  in  Monterey. 
The  Mexicans  give  up  the  rest  of  the  day  to  singing,  drinking,  dancing  and  playing;  the  faithful 
go  home  to  pray;  the  tourist  goes  back  to  the  real  world  of  today  with  a  sigh  for  the  dream  world 
of  yesteryear. 

For  another  year  the  mission  slumbers  in  solitude  and  the  soul  of  art  walks  undisturbed  among 
the  pine  groves  of  Carmelo.  Tule  huts  of  the  Indians  no  longer  find  shelter  from  wind  and  rain 
beneath  the  pines.  In  their  stead,  picturesqiie  bungalows  of  masters  of  pen,  of  brush,  of  chisel  and 
of  song  nestle  quietly  there. 


AMERICAN  MONTEREY  93 

"So  many  years  ago,"  the  Padres  came  to  Carmel  to  create  the  center  of  a  new  empire  of 
the  soul  and  daring  soldiers  came  to  Monterey  to  build  there  the  center  of  a  new  empire  of 
riches  and  renown.  Once  upon  a  time  their  dreams  seemed  on  the  point  of  becoming  realities,  then 
they  fell  asleep  again. 

Now,  from  the  slumber  of  decades,  rises  the  living  reality  of  their  half- for  gotten  dreams. 
Lured  by  the"*  loveliness  of  wave-washed  shore  and  tree-veiled  hills,  by  the  lucid,  mysterious  depths 
of  roaring  water,  to  Carmel  have  come  those  who  are  building  another,  an  artists'  empire  of  the 
soul. 

As  a  secret  shrine  to  the  artist  soul  that  was  killed  almost  before  it  was  born,  a  tall,  shrewd, 
forceful  Yankee  lawyer  is  "attempting  to  let  any  man  or  woman  who  is  producing  sentiment  in 
any  way,  work  free  from  financial  worry  over  a  home  in  the  wonderful  climate  so  like  that  of  Greece 
in  its  palmiest  days." 

He  says:  "Any  man  who  is  producing  sentiment  (using  the  word  in  its  best  sense),  either  with 
tongue  or  with  pen,  by  clay  or  by  brush  or  by  gut,  can  have  as  much  of  my  land  to  use  for  one 
dollar  a  year  as  he  wants,  as  long  as  he  will  use  it,  in  a  climate  that  never  gets  cold  and  never  gets 
hot  and  never  prevents  him  from  working  at  his  best.  If  he  makes  any  improvements,  I  am  pre- 
pared to  buy  them  from  him  at  whatever  they  are  worth  at  any  time  he  sees  fit  to  leave.  I  have 
no  intention  of  giving  any  man  the  land,  but  if  he  is  actually  working,  I  will  give  him  the  use  of 
the  land  while  working.  These  words,  'actually  working,'  are  not  expressed  idly  and  I  know  what 
real  work  is." 

The  newspaper  people  are  already  taking  the  idea  seriously.  The  hopes  of  its  originators  grow 
with  the  appreciation  of  those  whose  profession  makes  them  analyze  schemes  in  their  infancy. 

One  of  the  first  to  give  special  attention  to  the  idea  was  Mr.  Walter  Anthony,  one  of  San 
Francisco's  best  dramatic  critics.  Carmel  had  produced  the  "Toad,"  a  play  written  by  one  of  the 
Carmel  poets,  produced  on  the  Carmel  stage  by  Carmel's  college  professors,  painters,  dramatists, 
plumbers,  grocerymen  and  story  writers. 

During  the  same  week,  the  children  gave  "Alice  in  Wonderland,"  and  the  man  who  played  the 
part  of  King  in  it,  an  author  whose  annuities  are  written  in  five  figures,  refused  an  offer  of  $1,000 
to  "write  up"  the  political  conventions  for  a  New  York  paper  because  he  was  already  engaged. 


94  AMERICAN  MONTEREY 

His  engagement  was  nothing  more  than  following  out  his   intoxication  with   the   idea   by   playing 
King. 

The  following  is  Anthony's  expression  of  the  idea: 

"The  Carmel  idea  is  a  splendid  abstraction,  bigger  than  any  man  or  episode  related  to  it.  It 
has  escaped  from  the  hands  of  its  creators  like  the  genie  from  the  fisherman's  vase,  and  is  spreading 
its  influence  over  the  West. 

"The  idea  is  the  encouragement  of  Western  art,  in  a  typically  Western  environment,  the 
development  in  Carmel  of  a  race  of  poets  and  artists  not  apart  from  the  world,  but  of  it,  and 
capable  of  giving  expression  to  its  aspirations  and  needs,  a  modern  Athens  whither  may  be  borne 
a  later-day  Euripides,  Sophocles,  Aristophanes,  as  well  as  a  host,  perhaps,  of  lesser  Phrynichus 
and  actorial  Crates. 

"The  result  will  be  more  quickly  attained  by  the  procedure  at  present  observed  where  the 
entire  population  of  Carmel  is  involved  in  these  annual  expressions  of  dramatic  art.  As  long  as  the 
butcher  and  the  grocer  and  the  plumber  are  in  th  performances,  there  is  hope  for  them.  It  was  the 
Grecian  crowd  that  made  the  Grecian  drama.  Think  of  the  intelligence  the  gallery  god  of  Aris- 
tophanes' day  possessed  to  appreciate  the  philosophical  satire  of  that  ungodly  wit." 

Even  artists  require  food  and  raiment  and  shelter;  to  supply  these  needs,  a  city  of  trades- 
people is  growing  up  beside  the  art  colony. 

So,  surrounded  by  all  the  problems  of  life,  yet  with  a  place  of  escape  from  them,  the  artists 
live  and  love  and  long  for  the  unattainable  and  hope  and  marry  and  bring  forth  a  race  of  kings. 
TWO    HUNDREDTH    ANNIVERSARY    OF    SERRA'S    BIRTH 

The  long-severed  bond  which  united  Carmel  and  Monterey  in  the  old,  old  days  is  being 
welded  together  again.  Sunday,  November  23,  1913,  there  was  held  at  Carmel  a  pilgrimage,  a 
religious  ceremony  and  a  barbecue  celebrating  the  two  hundredth  anniversary  of  the  birth  of  Padre 
Junipero  Serra. 

When  the  throngs  of  worshipers  left  Carmel,  they  went  to  the  Presidio  of  Monterey  to  partici- 
pate in  civic  ceremonies  in  honor  of  the  great  friar.* 

That  celebration  meant  more  than  the  reunion  of  Monterey  and  Carmel ;  it  added  another  link 
in  the  chain  of  a  new  friendship  between  Spain  and  America. 

*In  the  preparations  for  both  ceremonies  the  sister  towns  of  Del  Monte  and  Pacific  Grove  had  gladly  assisted. 


AMERICAN  MONTEREY  95 

For  weeks  before  the  appointed  time,  Father  Mestres  had  had  constant  correspondence  with 
Father  Torrens  (the  only  living  relative  of  Padre  Serra),  who  was  planning  a  similar  ceremonial 
in  Mallorca,  Spain. 

That  the  State  as  well  as  the  church  might  show  its  appreciation  of  Junipero  Serra's  great 
work,  Governor  'Johnson  sent  Mr.  Frank  H.  Powers  as  a  special  Serra  commissioner  to  the  Mallorca 
celebration. 

Cablegrams  were  exchanged,  November  23,  between  Father  Mestres  and  Father  Torrens.  King 
Alfonso's  representative  at  Washington  telegraphed  greetings  and  congratulations  from  his  sover- 
eign to  the  worshipers  at  Carmel. 

But,  because  of  inclement  weather,  the  Mallorca  celebration  had  been  held  earlier.  The  Serra 
commissioner  had  come  too  late. 

Instead  of  icily  polite  official  regrets  such  as  might  have  been  expected  from  a  country  with 
which  we  were  at  war  only  sixteen  years  ago,  Father  Torrens  got  up  a  second  celebration  in  order 
that  the  American  envoy's  mission  might  not  be  vain. 

Following  the  quaint  Old  World  custom,  he  sent  criers  through  the  streets,  announcing  to  the 
people  that  there  would  be  special  services  in  honor  of  their  countryman,  Junipero  Serra. 

Happy  over  the  unexpected  holiday,  dressed  in  their  best,  the  crowds  came,  listened  to  their 
priests'  speeches  and  applauded  when  Father  Easter  link  translated  the  English  speech  of  the  com- 
missioner. 

The  King  himself  sent  greetings  to  the  little  group  gather  at  Mallorca  and  they  have  all 
promised  never  again  to  neglect  the  memory  of  Padre  Serra. 

Every  year,  say  they,  Spain  and  California,  lands  of  his  birth  and  death,  will  unite  in  honor- 
ing his  name. 

After  two  hundred  years,  Fray  Junipero  Serra  is  seeing  once  more  a  union  of  the  two  countries 
he  labored  so  faithfully  to  join. 


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